Have you ever wondered if real-time medical care enhances patient outcomes paving a way for value-based care model of the future? The answer is yes. It offers many benefits to patients, caregivers, and providers, which help in improving patient outcomes. Learn in detail about how real-time medical care is a successful model for Value-Based Care in this article. Talk to our experts to know more.
What Are Some of the Current Challenges in Real- Time Medical Care?
Many challenges related to fragmented data and consumer expectations come from overarching concerns regarding privacy and cybersecurity. Here are the 3 main current challenges for real-time data systems:
- System integration:
Instead of one master system throughout the United States, each organization has a system tailored to its needs. With over a dozen EHR systems that don’t necessarily connect, or interface, patients and clinicians suffer the consequences. Patients are frustrated at having to repeat their medical history, carry lab reports or scans on a CD-ROM, or coordinate their care. Clinicians practicing at different facilities may not always know how to understand various nuances of that EHR. Providing a seamless digital exchange of information is important to improve care and minimize costs.
- EHR burnout:
The EHR is designed mainly for billing and coding compliance, with screens focusing on content that improves financial coverage to manage costs instead of improving patient care. Many physicians and nurses report frustration with the busy work of documentation. Studies suggest that EHR fatigue leads to stress and burnout. User-friendliness is a critical concern, especially with severe nursing and physician shortages. Several organizations need a call to action for improvements in lowering documentation and administrative burden for clinicians.
- Real interaction:
Computers improve our lives, but they limit our interactions, particularly in the outpatient setting, where many providers only focus on a computer screen instead of patient-provider human interaction. This situation creates providers distance from healthcare, and dissatisfied patients who suffer from a lack of human connection. The future’s real-time data needs to create optimization strategies and solutions to re-focus on what matters most- the relationship between the patient and their care team member.
How Real-Time Medical Care is a successful model for Value-Based Care
Telehealth and remote patient monitoring are two innovative solutions that drive success for a value-based care model. Here are 5 main ways to improve patient outcomes with a telehealth program.
- Focus on patient education:
Telehealth can enhance patient education delivery as it can overcome barriers that are linked with an in-person model, such as time, distance, and cost. For patients with chronic conditions, it makes a significant difference. A systematic review examining the effectiveness of virtual patient education reveals these key highlights:
- Patients with diabetes who receive virtual education show better improvements in fasting blood sugar, 3-month average glucose control, and post-prandial glucose levels. There are significant improvements in the results between virtual education and control groups when tested on patient knowledge.
- Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receive virtual education with fewer visits to outpatient facilities.
Education can easily be delivered to patients through teach-back quizzes and informational videos tailored to each patient’s diagnosis, treatment, or medication. Health providers help to keep track of patients’ completed modules and review the content with them during virtual visits.
- Work with caregivers:
Over 90 million Americans provide care for patients who are older or living with chronic conditions, disabilities, or disease. The majority of these caregivers have come from family members for their loved ones. A research study on the relationship between caregivers and improved patient outcomes reveals that coordination with care providers plays an important role and produces results like:
- Significant improvement in patient outcomes comes when a caregiver participates in condition and treatment education and practical condition management support.
- Positive outcomes for patients, especially when they are free from pain, have better functional status, and mental health, occur when caregivers are ready to provide care.
- Lower risk of readmissions for the elderly whose caregivers play a part in the discharge process.
Telehealth platforms provide caregivers with patient information and additional support for communication and monitoring.
- Don’t let care end at the hospital door:
The care transition period is very crucial in the patient care process. A study reveals that instead of separating before and after admission into different stages, healthcare providers should integrate them as a part of a continuous healthcare program. This ensures that the patient gets sufficient care at all stages and prevents issues with poor care transitions like readmissions, increased health costs, and adverse patient outcomes.
- The same study reveals that patients who enrolled in a telehealth program as part of care transition found that this intervention provides valuable remote patient monitoring that is useful.
- Researchers in Denmark studied the use of telehealth in care transitions in neonatal care and found that it increases parental self-efficacy and breastfeeding rates, which positively influence newborn health for the long term.
Transition care doctors or nurses can use video calls and chat functions to communicate and stay connected with patients. This cuts down the time and costs associated with in-person visits and transfer-associated risks.
- Improve clinician workflows:
The quality of care a patient receives depends on several factors, and some of them include healthcare infrastructure and resources, clinician satisfaction, and patient engagement. To ensure patients get the best outcome, they need a good balance of these elements.
- A report by the National Academy of Medicine shows that administrative duties and tasks that don’t improve patient care often consume a clinician’s time and affect the ability to provide quality care.
- The same report highlights that a positive work environment helps improve population health, job satisfaction, and social support.
With a telehealth platform, manual processes that need a lot of time or in-person visits are streamlined with technology, offering a focus on providing excellent patient care. Clinicians can monitor their patients’ health status in real time and communicate with them about their symptoms, medications, and concerns.
- Use technology for risk monitoring:
Collecting and analyzing patient data is the key to addressing patients and improving their outcomes. The importance of technology and data is what gives providers the best possible insights to consistently make informed decisions for their patients.
- A control trial in 2017 of 124 participants found that telehealth and remote monitoring allowed for earlier detection and a significant reduction in hospital readmission among postpartum patients with hypertension.
- In a landmark study of routine cancer care, early interventions utilizing remote symptom monitoring resulted in improvement in quality of life, fewer visits to the emergency departments, longer duration of chemotherapy treatment, and 20% longer median overall survival.
Healthcare providers use telehealth solutions to incorporate predictive analytics that help identify patients who are at risk for adverse events. Clinicians can gain a better perspective of all patient and age-related risks so that they can proactively provide optimal care delivery and planning.
Need help to get real-time medical care? Visit ROADL Care in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!!!!! At ROADL, we are committed to fostering strong partnerships and collaborations that drive innovation and improve the healthcare experience for all. By working together, we can revolutionize the way care is delivered, making it more accessible, efficient, and effective for everyone involved. Speak with our experts at +1 (833) 762-3555 to know more about our services. Or you can walk in at 1797 Pitkin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11212, or write us an e-mail at roc@roadlcare.com.