Virtual Health

The healthcare industry is constantly evolving and changing, which means that the way that care is delivered to patients is also changing. One of the latest trends in healthcare is virtual care, which is a way of providing care to patients that isn`t always taking place inside a medical office. Virtual care is a rapidly growing trend in the healthcare space today because technology has made it easier than ever to offer remote care services to many patients in different areas of the country. Here are some of the ways that we are leveraging technology to revolutionize the healthcare industry with virtual care.

Healthcare Technology Is Changing The Way That We Deliver Care To Patients

One of the biggest ways that technology is changing the way that we deliver care to patients is through telemedicine. Telemedicine is the use of technology to deliver healthcare services such as treatment or diagnosis to patients without having to see the patient in person. Telemedicine uses videoconferencing and other technological tools to bridge the distance between patients and healthcare providers. There are many reasons why telemedicine is becoming more popular in the healthcare space. For example, it can allow a patient to receive medical care from a specialist in a location where they otherwise would not have access to that kind of specialist. In some cases, it can be less expensive to provide telemedicine services than it would be for the patient to travel to an office or clinic to receive in-person care. These are just a few of the reasons why telemedicine has become such a big trend in the healthcare industry in recent years.

How Telemedicine Can Help Reduce Cost In The Healthcare Industry

Another way that technology is being used to transform the healthcare industry is through remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices. Remote patient monitoring devices are small devices that attach to a monitor that is placed in your home and are used to track vital signs and track your health while you are home instead of at the hospital or medical clinic. These devices are used to collect and transmit data to a secure server where the data can be accessed at any time by healthcare professionals. This technology has the potential to provide patients with greater access to care than ever before while also reducing the need for them to visit the hospital so often. When used properly, RPM devices can help reduce the cost of providing care by giving patients the ability to stay in their homes when they are sick or recovering from surgery and allowing them to receive the support they need without having to visit the emergency room every time they have a medical issue.

One of the big advantages of telemedicine is that it allows patients to access healthcare without having to travel to receive care from a healthcare provider. This is especially important for patients who live in remote areas where they do not have easy access to healthcare facilities. With telehealth, these patients can still have access to medical professionals without having to drive long distances to see a doctor. Telehealth also allows healthcare providers to provide services to a larger patient population than they would be able to serve with an in-person office visit. For example, a team of doctors at a medical center may have the option of seeing multiple patients at the same time through the use of telehealth. This provides them with the opportunity to provide a greater level of service than they would if they were only able to see one patient at a time. In addition, telehealth can be used to provide follow-up care for patients who have been discharged from a hospital or other medical facility and need to schedule appointments with a primary care physician for further treatment. Through the use of a remote patient monitoring system, the patient is able to check in with the nurse practitioner who is administering their medication remotely to ensure they are taking the medication as prescribed and to monitor any symptoms they may be experiencing at home. As the use of virtual care technologies continues to grow, it is important that these technologies are used safely and effectively. Although there is currently no standard of care in place to ensure that remote patient monitoring devices are safe and effective, the FDA and other government agencies are working to develop guidelines for this type of technology. In the meantime, it is important to understand that these devices are not currently FDA approved for remote patient monitoring and may not be appropriate for all patients. It is also important to verify that the medical device manufacturer of the remote monitoring device follows applicable safety standards. These standards help ensure that the device is being manufactured according to appropriate guidelines. When using a remote patient monitoring system, it is essential that the device you are using is appropriate for your type of medical condition and that the healthcare provider who will be using it is properly qualified and trained to do so. This is to ensure that the device is being used correctly and that it is providing reliable results that can be used by your healthcare provider to evaluate your health and provide you with the best possible care.

Technology plays an important role in enabling healthcare providers to deliver high-quality care to their patients regardless of where that care takes place. Advances in telemedicine have made this possible by providing healthcare professionals with new ways to engage with their patients. As a result, providers are now able to offer their patients access to specialized care that may not be available to them otherwise. In some cases, it is possible to provide patients with better quality of care by connecting them directly to a specialist who can provide expert medical advice in real time.

To find out more on how Dell is helping organizations with Virtual Care capabilities go to Healthcare IT Solutions & Transformation | Dell Technologies Australia

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The majority of healthcare institutions are still not integrating data from various wearable devices, IOT devices, in home care systems and telemedicine system with other medical records. This disconnection is not only limiting the benefits that can be gained, but hindering the development of new treatments.

Remote patient monitoring has been a revolutionary tool for care delivery models across the globe. It is a technology that enables remote communication without an intermediary. This allows healthcare providers to monitor patients in hospital, at home and from a distance through wearable devices, and track their vital signs.

In the future, these networks will become more integrated with local GPs who can talk to patients from afar and offer advice on coping strategies for chronic conditions.

This article discusses how healthcare institutions need to rethink their approach to remote patient monitoring in order to integrate it into everyday healthcare practices and episodes of care.

Just over a week ago, whilst laying in bed with a high temperature, and like many others facing typical symptoms of COVID-19, I began to question if I was going to make it through the night. Now for full disclosure I knew that the events of the past 2 years had influenced my perception and general thinking about my health being in a critical state. Afterall I had faced many common cold and flu episodes in my life with many of them having similar symptoms. I had enough sanity to convince myself that the high temperature will pass but at the same time I knew that COVID symptoms can quickly escalate and become life threatening. At this point it’s nearing 2022 New Year midnight celebrations and I am trying to avoid the worst case scenario. My chest at this point is tightening, I am getting cramps in my upper back region roughly between my shoulder blades and my breathing is becoming shallow. Arguably some early signs of heart problems.  At the same time, I am conscientious that I am not the only one facing or having faced these symptoms. So instead of calling 000 – or 911 as my American friends would say – I decided to reach out to Nurse on Call. After a few ringtones and an automated answering system I was directed to a calm soothing voice of a nurse who no doubt ‘had seen this movie before’. She assured me that based upon my tone of voice I was fine but she needed to ascertain some additional information. And so began the data collection. Suddenly I realised that I have a wearable device which I had used for the past year on so many occasions to measure my recovery process post intense exercising such as running, cycling, weightlifting, or High-intensity Interval training as well as tracing my sleep patterns and stages such as REM or Deep sleep.  The data being produced was exactly the type of data that the Nurse on Call was asking for. Whilst the content (i.e. Data) was the same, the context was subtly different. She was trying to put together this data to achieve different correlations. 

My wearable device was spitting out real time data every second on my Resting Heart Rate, Respiratory rate, my Sleep pattern and recovery stages and my Heart Rate Variability. It gets better because I had access to historical data which had been accumulating over the past year and the picture that was being painted was one that not surprisingly my decline in health was not due to inappropriate amount of intense exercise – which I must admit that it’s not uncommon for my competitive nature – but due to COVID-19 having got a hold of my body and doing what it does best. 

Now back to my conversation with Nurse on Call, my nurse assured me that my respiratory rate was within the normal range. Yes we agreed that a healthy and active individual should not be facing such a high level of respiratory rate but I was not in a critical state. She also agreed that my high heart rate and abnormal breathing patterns were common in COVID-19 patients but not a cause for alarm. She instructed me to take another dose of paracetamol to manage my high temperature, consume more liquids and rest.

The next morning I woke somewhat bruised and battered from being upset and not being able to celebrate New Year with my family and friends. But I couldn’t help wonder about how the events of the night before with my Nurse on Call avoided a trip to hospital and its associated waiting game in an emergency department, not to mention adding additional stress that I would have added to an already overwhelmed healthcare system.

Suddenly I see a news flash on the lounge room TV that the recent COVID-19 wave in Australia had crashed many ambulance and emergency departments. Many of the calls could have been avoided by a similar assessment that my nurse had made for me. 

Wearable devices these days come in many sizes, colours and capabilities. Many of them such as Garmin have the capabilities that my Whoop device provided me. So the question is “why don’t we embrace them? Why doesn’t our healthcare system integrate these devices into Realtime patient monitoring platforms?”

Now these are somewhat rhetorical questions. My two decades of experience in the technology industry and in recent years the Healthcare Industry has taught me that these challenges are not just solved by technology, rather by embracing new ways of thinking that challenges the traditional healthcare operating models. The untapped opportunity in APJ around IOT devices is estimated to be approximately $44B and in ANZ alone we are facing a $200M virtual care opportunity, with many organisations racing to integrate the various parts of healthcare ecosystem. Dell Technologies and eCare21 have put together a proven virtual care platform that has solved some of these challenges.  Join me in the next article to go deeper into what I believe Healthcare industry must embrace in order to position itself for the future of Healthcare by introducing remote patient monitoring and fully integrated highly secure virtual care platforms as well as introduce you to Dell Technology and eCare21 with virtual capabilities that supports above scenarios. 

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