Improving Clinical Performance in Healthcare: Current & Future Uses of Telehealth & Telemedicine Platforms
Connecting Beyond Boundaries: Providers Embrace Telehealth for Enhanced Clinical Outcomes

Improving Clinical Performance in Healthcare: Current & Future Uses of Telehealth & Telemedicine Platforms

Kevin Lewis Kevin Lewis

Kevin Lewis

30+ Year Healthcare Performance Improvement Professional | Resilient Healthcare | United Nations Speaker | White House Advisor | 90+ Written Articles | 20+ Publications including TIME, The N.Y. Times & The Wharton School

发布日期: 2024年4月18日
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Telehealth refers to the broad scope of electronic and telecommunications technologies and services used to provide care and services at-a-distance. It encompasses a wide range of healthcare services, including education, remote patient monitoring, health information sharing and more. Telehealth is not just a specific service, but an overarching term that includes all aspects and activities of healthcare and health education delivered and received remotely via digital technologies.

Telemedicine platforms are a subset of telehealth that specifically focus on the remote diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients through telecommunications technology. These platforms enable healthcare providers to deliver clinical services to patients without an in-person visit, typically through video conferencing, secure messaging and mobile health apps. Telemedicine is more clinically oriented, concentrating primarily on the direct provision of care to patients remotely.

Current Uses of Telehealth and Telemedicine Platforms

  • Remote Consultations: Patients can have live video consultations with healthcare providers for diagnosis, treatment advice and prescription management. Companies that can help: Teladoc Health, MDLive, Amwell, Doctor On Demand, Zoom (for Healthcare)
  • Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM): Use of digital technologies to monitor and capture medical and health data from patients remotely, which is then electronically transmitted to healthcare providers for assessment. Companies that can help: Medtronic, Philips Healthcare, ResMed, Vivify Health, Garmin Health
  • Mental Health Services: Provides remote access to mental health support and therapy, including counseling and psychiatric services. Companies that can help: Talkspace, BetterHelp, Amwell, MDLive, Cerebral
  • Telepharmacy: Offers the ability to consult with a pharmacist, manage prescriptions and receive medications by mail. Companies that can help: Capsule, Amazon Pharmacy, PillPack (by Amazon), CVS Health, Walgreens
  • Mobile Health (mHealth) Applications: Use of mobile apps for tracking health metrics, medication reminders, lifestyle management and connecting with healthcare providers. Companies that can help: MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, Apple Health, Samsung Health, HealthTap

Future Potential Uses of Telehealth and Telemedicine Platforms

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Powered Diagnostics: AI in diagnostics can significantly reduce the time needed for analyzing complex medical data, leading to quicker decision-making and potentially saving lives. By leveraging patterns found in vast datasets, AI can identify diseases earlier and predict health outcomes with high accuracy, revolutionizing personalized medicine and treatment plans.
  • Virtual Reality (VR) for Therapeutic Uses: VR technology has the potential to transform mental health, physical therapy and pain management by providing immersive environments that can distract, rehabilitate and educate patients in ways not possible in traditional settings. It can simulate real-life situations for stress management, phobia treatment and even simulate surgical procedures for training purposes, offering a safe and controlled environment for both patients and healthcare professionals.
  • Wearable Health Technology Integration: Wearable devices, such as smartwatches and fitness bands, are poised to become even more integrated into healthcare delivery by continuously collecting health data and providing real-time feedback to both users and their healthcare providers. This ongoing monitoring can lead to earlier detection of potential health issues, more tailored treatment plans and a greater emphasis on preventative care, making healthcare more proactive rather than reactive.
  • Robotic Surgery Assistance via Telemedicine: Robotic surgery, augmented by telemedicine, allows for precision and flexibility beyond human capabilities, which can lead to less invasive procedures, reduced recovery times and improved surgical outcomes. Remote surgery, guided by experienced surgeons via telecommunications, can bring expert surgical care to remote regions, democratizing access to high-quality healthcare services.
  • Decentralized Clinical Trials: Decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) utilize telehealth technologies to facilitate various aspects of the trial process, including recruitment, consent, data collection and patient monitoring, without the participants needing to visit trial sites. This approach can accelerate the trial process, improve participant diversity and reduce costs, potentially speeding up the development of new treatments and medications.

Both telehealth and telemedicine platforms are rapidly evolving, breaking new ground in healthcare delivery and expanding access to care across the globe. With continued technological advancements and regulatory support, the scope and reach of these platforms are expected to grow significantly.

(Note: Please feel free to add more ideas in the comment section! This is a living document, so I will update the list accordingly. Thank you for your contributions!)

If you liked this article and would like to learn more about improving performance and resilience in healthcare, please check out the following links.

Clinical performance

Financial performance

Operational performance

Resilience performance

Sustainability performance

Diversity performance

Leadership performance

Technologies to consider


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