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Telemedicine Can Help Prevent ER Congestion:
The CDC estimates over 136.6 million emergency room visits take place annually across the United States. This results in billions upon billions of dollars in medical costs, the majority of which can be circumvented by people utilizing telemedicine as a triage system before running to the ER. Telemedicine can handle up to 78% of medical complaints that are usually handled by primary care physicians or the emergency department. If people with less severe cases such as a cold or minor infection would utilize services like DocChat, it could free the overburdened emergency doctors and nurses to treat serious emergency cases.
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Reduce Hospital Readmissions:
The healthcare system is burdened by a whopping $16 billion a year from hospital readmissions for follow up issues or questions after a patient has been discharged. Telemedicine can change this, as companies like DocChat can act as the perfect triage system for these cases. Patients can connect electronically with board certified physicians to ask follow up questions or have complications treated, and if their concerns fall into the 22% category of complaints that cannot be handled via telemedicine, the attending physician will recommend hospital readmission. DocChat also has unlimited 7-day follow-up after video conferences which is helpful for addressing post-appointment concerns.
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Managing Chronic Conditions More Efficiently:
We can’t speak for all telemedicine companies, but DocChat has proven excellent at handling chronic conditions such as allergies, asthma and arthritis, just to name a few. Utilising telemedicine for chronic condition management can greatly decrease healthcare costs and readmission rates, as well as the stress of booking, taking time off work for and waiting for appointments. Asthma alone accounts for at least 1.8 emergency department visits annually, some of which could potentially be handled via telemedicine. If people with chronic conditions availed of telemedicine services, it could save time, worry, stress and money, as well as saving the healthcare system money and valuable resources.
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Reduced Travel Costs of Rural Patients:
As any rural patient will tell you, doctor visits and emergency department trips really start adding up if you don’t live near a medical center. Rural patients can save thousands of dollars a year on transport and hotel stays if they utilized telemedicine.
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Ambulatory Monitoring Reduces Inpatient Stays:
Inpatient stays cost the healthcare system astronomical amounts annually. Remote and ambulatory monitoring of vital signs, weight, sugars and other symptoms of people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or stroke history can replace the need for many patients to have to stay in hospitals for months while their condition is being monitored and stabilized. The technology exists now to do much of this from home. According to Healthcare IT News, ambulatory monitoring can help detect body fluid changes in cardiovascular disease patients which can predict cardiac arrest or heart episodes and send the patient to the hospital before these devastating complications occur. This allows the patients to be in the comfort of their own home until their needs change and they need more stringent care.
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Telemedicine Care Saves Facilities Money:
The implementation of telemedicine in such facilities as nursing homes and penitentiaries can save millions to billions of dollars in healthcare and Medicare costs annually. By utilizing telemedicine, these facilities save on personnel used for transporting patients, unnecessary hospital costs, and so on. DocChat got its start collaborating with nursing homes and has had much success in this sector (check out our article on DocChat and nursing homes).
