Telemedicine's Advantages in Nursing Homes
Fri, 24 Dec 2021
The number of
individuals aged 80 and above is expected to increase to 202 million in 2030
and 434 million in 2050, according to projections. The elderly are the most
susceptible members of society during the COVID-19 epidemic. The elderly are
more likely to acquire severe forms of COVID-19, according to epidemiological
and clinical data, and the presence of numerous concomitant chronic conditions
worsens the prognosis and increases mortality.
Approximately 85.1
percent of nursing home residents in the United States are 65 or older. They
are one of the high-risk categories, thus social distancing should be avoided
at all costs. Elderly persons in nursing homes, however, require regular
monitoring and timely treatment of their chronic ailments, even if they are
compelled to live in seclusion.
Summary of telemedicine in nursing homes
The use of telemedicine
aids in the adoption of a person-centered approach to healthcare, the delivery
of more effective patient care, and the mitigation of geographic and
access-related barriers, all of which are important for nursing homes. Remote
patient monitoring, online videoconferencing, and store-and-forward
doctor-patient communication are all telemedicine technologies that can be
utilized successfully in nursing homes.
Remote patient
monitoring (RPM) is real-time health status monitoring enabled by smart
wearable devices that capture residents' data (heart rate, oxygen level, blood
pressure, and so on) and transmit it to a doctor's app accessible online 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere in the globe. RPM assists clinicians
in immediately customizing the treatment procedure by recognizing even the
tiniest changes in a senior resident's well-being.
Patients' data (e.g.,
test results) is recorded, saved, and communicated to medical specialists using
store-and-forward technology (asynchronous communication), who evaluate it to
help diagnose or treat it without real-time involvement.
HIPAA compliance is one of the most important
aspects to consider when implementing telemedicine in nursing homes.
Due to the COVID-19
epidemic, HIPAA-related sanctions for telemedicine providers were temporarily
suspended. Nonetheless, Softieons advises using HIPAA-compliant telemedicine
software from the beginning to avoid costly changes later.
Full software and user support
To ensure the safety of
PHI, your in-house team or a telehealth solution provider should regularly
monitor the app, solve any new issues, analyze and eliminate their fundamental
causes, and do frequent security checks. Because some nursing home residents
may be unwilling or unable to use the app's self-service functionality, you'll
almost certainly need human user support.
Telemedicine in nursing homes has a lot of advantages.
In the case of patients
Senior residents are
eager to participate in teleconsultations with the attending doctor for a
variety of reasons, including the ability to have an online consultation with a
doctor at any time, at the patient's request, to get access to a wide range of
medical expertise. Seniors value the ability to visit a doctor right away,
especially in an emergency scenario late at night (e.g., an accidental fall).
It increases the overall quality of care and residents' well-being.
Facilities that provide nursing care
It promotes treatment
continuity, lowers travel costs, and lowers the risk of Medicare penalties. It
also raises the likelihood of winning value-based care bonuses * by reducing
unnecessary hospitalizations and readmissions.
For example, in
traditional elder care, a nurse may overestimate a nursing home resident's
illness, resulting in unnecessary hospitalization, putting the nursing care
facility at risk of penalties, and limiting the nursing care facility's chances
of winning value-based care bonuses. This will not occur if the nursing home
has the ability to communicate with a healthcare practitioner remotely via
voice and video for an immediate examination of the patient's condition.
Telemedicine can help nursing homes provide better
care.
By 2025, the global
market for telehealth and telemedicine would be worth $ 191.7 billion, making
these fields attractive for investment. Telemedicine gives nursing homes a
competitive advantage and improves the satisfaction of their residents with
their healthcare. You are welcome to contact Softieons healthcare IT team if
you are developing telemedicine software for nursing homes and require
assistance at any stage of the development process.
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