How Telehealth May Combat Healthcare Burnout

In the wake of COVID-19 some of the biggest problems healthcare has long faced remain, and new obstacles have arisen. Hospitals have always battled through crowded emergency rooms and patient overflow, but they are now also facing intense resource and staff shortages and healthcare burnout.

Staffing and labor shortages were cited as the number one issue prominent healthcare systems are currently facing due to the stress and overload of the job over the past two years. How can healthcare leaders take action to support their valued workforce? Telehealth solutions have the potential to solve some of healthcare’s most pressing issues like ED overcrowding and resource constraints that can help alleviate burnout amongst healthcare professionals. Implementing telehealth capabilities optimizes workflow, allows resources to stretch further, and better direct patient care, ultimately minimizing the burden on healthcare workers while allowing more patients to be seen. 

Alleviating ED Bottlenecks with treat-in-place

Reducing the number of patients that come through the ED not only saves critical resources and staff from burnout, but actually improves patient outcomes. Overcrowded EDs lead to longer admission times and delay patient treatment which can negatively impact patient outcomes. EMS ambulances can save critical utilization time and improve metrics by conducting virtual telehealth assessments and consults with healthcare providers before defaulting to hospital transport. By sharing vitals and other valuable patient data in real time, paramedics and EMTs in the field can redirect patients to the most efficient treatment destination or provide in-home care remotely.

Thanks to improvements in telehealth, the Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) model and similar programs provide EMS teams with greater flexibility to treat patients in the field. When patients call 911 but don’t necessarily need to be transported to the hospital emergency department, crews can consult with clinicians through live video communication. This capability saves critical time, ensures the most cost-effective treatment, while reducing ED traffic and EMS wall-time. Fast, secure mobile telehealth capabilities maximizes resources and communication between EMS and hospitals as they work to provide the most efficient and optimal care for patients. 

Efficient Pre-Hospital Communication Allows for Dynamic Care Coordination

GD has created innovative solutions like e-Bridge and CAREpoint to allow teams to easily communicate, disseminate patient health information, and coordinate care across hospital and EMS teams. These solutions allow teams to share real time patient vitals, live video, text, 12-leads, and more to prepare hospital teams for patient arrival. Hospitals can even get real time GPS location updates to track EMS ETA to better coordinate care and prepare for patient arrival. Mobile telehealth solutions allow the healthcare ecosystem to pivot prehospital patient care to alleviate costs and workforce burnout.  

Integrating telehealth solutions optimizes pre-hospital communication across care teams. Optimizing communication and workflow between EMS and hospital teams allows for improved care coordination and reduces the number of patients that must come through the ED. Treating in place or rerouting patients according to their care needs gives hospital and EMS workers the time and space they need to focus on emergency care. 

GD solutions are highly configurable to fit within processes for EMS, Hospital, Mobile Integrated Healthcare, and Community Paramedicine teams to aid in improving patient care. When care teams have resources to work together the entire care ecosystem can significantly improve quality of care, reduce treatment times, and optimize critical workflow. Given the extensive labor shortage across the healthcare ecosystem, supporting valuable care teams and reducing the burden on healthcare workers is more important than ever. In 2021 EMS and Hospital users of GD solutions across the country experienced increased communication and collaboration among healthcare professionals and decreased workload for healthcare teams as a result. 

Want to learn more about how GD’s telehealth solutions support the future of telemedicine? Start a conversation to discover how we can help you provide the right care at the right time and the right place in 2022.

About GD (General Devices)

GD is a NJ-based med tech company specializing in mobile telemedicine and telehealth solutions that help EMS and fire first responders, hospitals, and Mobile Integrated Healthcare deliver smarter, expedient patient care. Powered by responsive innovation, GD’s user-friendly solutions facilitate secure, mobile communications and rapid data sharing across acute and non-acute care teams to help save time, money and lives. Backed by a 40+ year history and thousands of implementations, GD is a widely revered industry leader. Visit https://general-devices.com/ to learn more.