Weekend Doctor: What is Telehealth?
By Michelle Kindle, RN,BSN
Bridge Home Health & Hospice
Today, there are roughly seven million older adults striving to be independent, yet have difficulty leaving home and do not want to put stress on family members. Telehealth is a method of remote health care provided in the home to improve access to quality care, reduce hospitalizations and lower costs.
Recently, telehealth applications have expanded to improve access to care and communication, especially for remote, vulnerable, or marginalized populations.
Telehealth provides a wide range of services such as transitional care for those with heart failure and other chronic illnesses, palliative care, home-based care, behavioral and mental health services.
With the use of telehealth, providers can deliver a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic management services. Examples of such services include virtual visits via live video, remote monitoring, and provider-to-patient communication and messaging tools.
These technologies are designed to be patient specific. Virtual visits and remote monitoring can reduce the frequency of home visits by health care clinicians, reduce cost and reduce the burden of transportation for those with mobility limitations. Both the patient and family will be provided with education and other support tools for managing care at home.
Although telehealth began more than four decades ago with a small number of hospitals providing services to those in remote areas, it is still limited. However, as policy makers reduce regulatory barriers and providers focus on improving telehealth strategies, it is likely that telehealth will be implemented universally.
By improving access to health care, telehealth can help reduce unmet needs and improve quality of life for the patient and their families.
Stories Posted This Week
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Friday, November 22, 2024
- Ticket and livestream info for Bluffton Pirates v. Patrick Henry football
- Service of thanks at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran
- Pirate girls basketball beats Hornets in McDonald’s opener
- 100+ voices in Bluffton's Handel's Messiah chorus
- Pirate Worcester named top district defender
- BVHS receives Level 7 achievement in ‘Most Wired’ survey
Thursday, November 21, 2024
- McDonald’s Holiday Tournament, Thursday, November 21
- 2024 Fall Festival in pictures: At the Schumacher Homestead
- Fairy I. Parkins was postmaster of Benton Ridge
- Council committee and residents discuss ADUs, best and worst case scenarios
- BPL hosts Open Crafts and Game Space, November 26
- Women in Business meet November 21
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
- Bluffton Beavers sports roundup, Nov. 13-19
- ODOT prepping for first snow of the season
- Mason named OBL 2024 Banker of the Year
- October 2024 land transfers in Bluffton school district
- November chamber meeting explores member news, Blaze plans and flag etiquette
- Bluffton EMS by the numbers: October 2024
- Children left unattended in running vehicles can lead to abductions
- Icon search function goes from 0 to 30
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
- Tickets and streaming information for Nov. 22 Pirate football playoff game
- Spirit Bus for November 22 football playoff in Findlay
- Tea Bag Exchange & Tasting at BPL, November 21
- Letter: University students learn about Fair Trade
- Join volunteer crew for 2024 Ream Display-Blaze of Lights setup
- Village of Bluffton asks for updated utility billing contact information