Key Advantages of Virtual Healthcare for Patients
Virtual healthcare, or telemedicine, lets you talk to your doctor over the phone or online through video chat. You can even use remote monitoring to record information like your weight, blood pressure, or heart rate and send it to your doctor.
While virtual healthcare adoption in behavioral health peaked during the pandemic, many patient segments still have limited access. Here are some key advantages for patients of virtual care:
Convenience
Consumers today expect products and services to be easy to access – and that’s exactly what virtual care offers. One of the benefits of virtual healthcare is that it allows patients to consult a doctor without traveling or leaving home, which is incredibly convenient for people with disabilities or those who live far from medical centers. Telehealth technology can even help them maintain social distancing norms while receiving healthcare.
In addition, it helps them save time by eliminating the need to wait in a healthcare facility’s waiting room. This is especially useful for patients who have limited vacation days.
Plus, if they do have to spend some time in the hospital, they can easily follow up with their physician through telehealth after discharge, reinforcing treatment adherence and preventing readmissions. And they do end up going to the emergency department. In that case, a virtual visit can also prevent them from paying more for unnecessary treatments by redirecting them to a less costly care setting.
Accessibility
Virtual care allows patients to connect with a specialist anywhere they can access the internet. This is especially useful in remote areas where healthcare services are unavailable. It also reduces strain on the healthcare system, decreasing the need for in-person visits.
One of the themes that emerged from this study was that virtual healthcare was not necessarily accessible to everyone. The accessibility of virtual care depends on various factors: the patient characteristics, the patient’s context, the caregiver’s characteristics, and the service context.
Addressing these barriers to virtual healthcare to increase its uptake is important. This could include providing education, training, and support to families on using these tools, creating low-cost digital health options for people with limited incomes, and addressing gaps in mobile phone and data connectivity in rural and remote areas of the country. This is especially critical because of the prevalence of a lack of digital literacy and low tech-savviness in these communities. For example, providing asynchronous messaging and devices that can upload and transmit data to a provider, like food logs, blood glucose levels or medications, may be more appealing for these groups.
Personalized Guidance
Virtual healthcare has grown in recent years, gaining even more momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual care allows patients to stay home and still receive medical attention, which helps mitigate the spread of infectious diseases requiring lockdowns or social distancing.
Patients can connect with their doctors through digital tools, including patient portals, to easily communicate and stay updated on their health. This allows for more frequent check-ins and tailored treatment plans. In addition, it makes it easier for patients to ask questions about their medications or symptoms and avoid costly visits to the emergency room.
However, there are challenges associated with virtual healthcare that could increase a patient’s risk of getting the wrong care or being misdiagnosed. Among them include:
Cost-Effectiveness
Many technologies exist in the global communications market that support real-time asynchronous communication. They provide an advantage over traditional healthcare services because these tools allow personally identifiable information to be securely transmitted, stored, and erased.
Virtual care empowers patients to become more active participants in their health and well-being when used alongside a care model that prioritizes health outcomes. This results in higher engagement and adherence, critical for improving overall and chronic health outcomes.
Virtual care also offers cost-effectiveness for patients, as it can help prevent utilization of more expensive care settings—including specialty and urgent care, ER visits, and hospitalizations. Ultimately, this helps reduce overall healthcare costs for both individuals and organizations.
With these benefits, it’s no wonder that virtual care is rapidly becoming a mainstream part of the healthcare industry.
Easier Scheduling
Virtual healthcare offers many benefits for patients, doctors, and healthcare organizations. By allowing patients to schedule and attend appointments from anywhere with an internet connection, telehealth can alleviate some of the pressure of traveling for in-person visits.
The convenience of telehealth can also save patients time and money. Many telehealth platforms feature built-in patient enrollment and scheduling features that streamline the process, helping to eliminate the need for paper appointment booking. This can greatly benefit patients who may struggle to find the time to travel for in-person appointments, particularly those with chronic conditions like diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Having access to virtual healthcare can make it easier for patients to follow up on discharges from the hospital, reinforcing treatment adherence and reducing readmission rates. The ease of online scheduling can also be a big win for people with mobility issues who might otherwise struggle to get out and about, as they can remain in their homes without having to expend energy getting into a car or navigating crowded waiting rooms.
