Synchronous Monitoring - Telemedicine
Telemedicine is a general term for a broad spectrum of capabilities,
ranging from two health providers discussing a patient over a phone to
using High-Definition Video
Conferencing or Robotic Technology to deliver remote patient care.
What's clear is that the spectrum of telemedicine
options offer a variety of mechanisms to deliver cost-effective, more
direct, more specialized, and more one-on-one medical services to
populations which may not have those specialties or medical services
available to them locally. An increasing number of specialties can now
be supported via telemedicine, including, for example:
- Psychiatry
- Dermatology
- Trauma
- Home Health
- Radiology
- Pathology
- Cardiology
The technology can be used for multiple purposes, including patient
monitoring, medical consultations, patient education and care delivery,
in a real-time (synchronous) or
store-and-forward (asynchronous) manner. Some of
the issues to be aware of are:
- Reimbursement rules and treatment licenses vary state by state
and treatment by treatment. You need to have a solid understanding
of what will be covered and what a physician's legal ability to
deliver care is on a point-to-point basis.
- Depending on the type and level of telemedicine
you want to deliver, infrastructure will need to be acquired,
installed, integrated, tested, and supported. Physician groups need
to understand all costs involved and if sufficient transmission
bandwidth exists in the geographic locations they want to service.
- Adoption can be a challenge. Not all providers or patients are
comfortable meeting remotely. You need to be sure that the
technology is straightforward and easy to use, and that patient care
is not sacrificed.
Ultimately, telemedicine solutions need to be:
- Interoperable: Able to communicate with other systems seamlessly
- Scalable: Able to grow into deliver additional video, images,
and audio without needing to be replaced
- Reliable: Able to work effortlessly and with minimum down-time
- Portable: Able to transmit data in a format which is readable by
the receiving systems
JCS can help you develop your Telemedicine Strategy,
navigate the maze of partners and technologies, and implement a
telemedicine solution that is right for your organization and patient
population.
Please follow this link for information on
additional JCS services for the Healthcare
industry.