The Top 5 Benefits of Telehealth

Why should you consider telehealth?

Telehealth Solutions have become a disruptor in the healthcare industry. Telehealth has proven to improve care delivery, treatment times and overall outcomes. It increases patient satisfaction and participation, and boosts providers’ morale. The most trackable values through telehealth solutions is the decrease in costs, quicker time to treatment and increased process efficiencies.

We would like to assume that any healthcare professional would choose to implement a solution that could improve patient care while decreasing provider costs, but we understand that making a decision is not always that easy. If we had to break it down into a list of the top 5 reasons you should be implementing telehealth, we’d go with these:

1. Increased Access to Care– The American Hospital Association sums this up beautifully: “Telehealth connects patients to vital health care services through videoconferencing, remote monitoring, electronic consults and wireless communications. By increasing access to physicians and specialists, telehealth helps ensure patients receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time.” (aha.org, 2019). Basically, telehealth breaks down the barriers- distance, time, and costs which normally prevent patients from accessing much-needed care.
2. Increased Quality of Care– When every member of the healthcare team can exchange information and ideas before the patient reaches the emergency department doors, care becomes more accurate and effective. The patient gets the care they need, when they need it, without delay and the hospital is able to provide quality care without increasing their costs.
3. Increased Patient Engagement– The ease of telehealth services is proving to be very popular among patients, and with very good reason. The ability to have a virtual chat with a provider reduces the number of unnecessary trips to medical facilities, saving both time and money. Hospitals such as Nemours and Cleveland Clinic, for example, conduct several virtual visits per week, usually scheduling them around school and work schedules. Patients are so pleased with this system that recent post-care studies have shown up to 98% indicate interest in future telehealth visits. (HealthTech, 2019)
4. Increased Provider Satisfaction– Happy patients are involved patients; involved patients keep up with their care and see better outcomes. A providers’ main goal is to get and keep their patients well, and they see just how much telehealth helps to make that happen.
5. Decreased Healthcare Costs– A study released by the National Institute for Health Care Reform presented a staggering statistic: hospital readmissions within a month of discharge were racking up a bill of over $16 billion per year (Deschenes). Telehealth services aim to improve that. According to a recent article by Health Leaders Media, implementation of telemedicine can save more than $1500 per visit to the ER; individual savings ranged from $19 to $120 per patient visit. (Cheney, 2019) Those numbers are adding up, reducing that $16 billion figure drastically over the last few years alone.

So when asked if you should implement a solution that can consolidate and standardize all your processes while improving patient care and decreasing associated costs, say yes.

To learn why so many choose GD Telehealth Solutions to improve healthcare teams visit www.general-devices.com or contact us at telehealth@general-devices.com.

About GD (General Devices): 

GD enables smarter patient care by empowering hospitals, EMS, community healthcare and public safety with the most comprehensive, interactive, configurable, affordable, and integrated FDA listed medical communication and mobile telemedicine solutions. The benefits of which are enhanced workflows, minimized risk, reduced costs and improved patient outcomes.