Why the Telehealth Sector Is Growing Rapidly
Telehealth is a rapidly-growing sector in healthcare in the United States. Because of COVID-19, this year will see exceptional growth in the number of telehealth visits (Forrester Research is forecasting around 1 billion virtual healthcare visits, compared to previous estimates of up to 81 million).
But it isn’t only COVID-19 that has been the reason behind the flourishing telehealth sector. The list of advantages to patients, hospitals, and professionals working in telehealth is long – and growing, as technology continues to develop and improve. Here’s a list of seven of these advantages.
1. Patients Can Access Care More Easily
Patients who live in rural locations, are disabled, or time constricted can access primary care more easily when it is delivered virtually. They may live hundreds of miles from their nearest hospital, but they have their health practitioner in their pocket on their cell phone – available anytime and anyplace.
2. Patients Receive More Constant and Consistent Care
Patients with chronic conditions, such as COPD or diabetes, can benefit from greater regularity of contact with a health practitioner. Routine appointments to check vitals can be conducted online, and more frequent contact with patients helps to reduce ER visits and readmissions to hospital.
3. Telehealth Is Safer for Patients
Telehealth also reduces the potential for cross-infection from other patients in hospital or the physician’s office. Removing the need to travel means the patient avoids risk of accidents. It’s much safer for patients to be contacted by phone or video.
4. Telehealth Patients Save Time and Money
With no need to travel to their physician’s office, patients save time and money. There is no waiting for appointments in busy waiting rooms and no traffic to navigate or parking spaces to find. Patients with children don’t need to pay for childcare, and working patients don’t need to take a half-day or day off work to attend a 15-minute appointment.
5. Telehealth Increases Practice Turnover and Reduces Costs
Health practitioners can conduct more appointments virtually and suffer fewer no-shows. Those practices that offer telehealth options also benefit from a wider audience and greater patient retention. With cost-effective implementation of telehealth capability, practice revenue can increase as costs decrease.
6. Telehealth Improves Efficiency in Practice and Patient Satisfaction
Telehealth allows greater connectivity of patients, physicians, and specialists, and sharing of medical histories, thus improving efficiency of workflow and more effective triage. In its 2018 DataDive Better Performers and Analysis Report, The Medical Group Management Association concludes that telehealth strategies are used by some of the best performing practices in the United States.
In rural areas, telehealth improves the delivery of health services and improves convenience for patients. This helps to deliver improvements in patient outcomes and satisfaction.
7. Telehealth Practitioners Have Greater Job Flexibility
When working in the telehealth sector, healthcare practitioners can work from wherever they can access the internet. Providing they have the correct licensing in place, healthcare professionals across multiple disciplines are no longer dependent upon location.
In Summary
Telehealth strategies are being employed by increasing numbers of practices, hospitals, and healthcare providers across the United States. The adoption of these services has been accelerated by COVID-19. As more practices and patients realize the advantages of telehealth, it is more likely that telehealth will become a standard service rather than an add-on.
If you are a health practitioner looking for a new challenge, have you considered telehealth as a career option? To explore some of the best opportunities available in this rapidly-growing sector of the healthcare industry, contact Telehealth Gigs today.
