The CDC estimates about 5.8 million people in the United States live with Alzheimer’s disease. This includes 5.6 million 65 and older and around 200,000 under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, the Alzheimer’s Association discovered that over half of those surveyed believe that the U.S. healthcare system is not effectively helping patients and their families navigate dementia care. Telemedicine is here to change that.
What is Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of group brain disease, accounting for 60-80% of all dementia. It is also the 5th leading cause of death for those 65 and older. The disease is progressive, slowly getting worse over time, and as of today, there is no known cure. In short, it eats away at a person’s brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior that eventually become severe enough to affect their work, social routines, hobbies and relationships with loved ones. Alzheimer’s eventually takes away all independence from the people it affects, who eventually wholly depend on their caregivers to maintain their well-being.
Changing the Lives of Caregivers
Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s is not an easy task. Caregivers are always on the clock, from helping their loved ones eat or take their medication to driving them to appointments. With the amount of attention Alzheimer’s patients require, there is little to no time for caregivers to look after themselves. This is where clinics and hospitals can offer much-needed relief. Through telemedicine, patients can see all their doctors in one place, relieving some of the caregiver’s burden. Telemedicine provides access to a wide variety of specialists, breaking geographical barriers to deliver the best support without travel. Hospitals all over the United States can fill the need, supporting their patients and extended community
Building a Hybrid Care Ecosystem
Telemedicine can deliver a long list of benefits for those suffering from Alzheimer’s, with the top two ranking at cost savings and access to specialists. Through telemedicine, in-person physicians can collaborate with other specialists nationwide to create a hybrid care ecosystem that better serves the patient at hand. The collaborative, team-based dementia care program has been shown to reduce ambulance rides, emergency room visits and hospitalizations, decreasing associated costs. The decrease in cost can be attributed to a proactive care plan rather than an end-of-life one. One example found that when the care ecosystem model was successfully implemented and integrated into purely clinical settings, the ecosystem reduced the total cost of care for one patient by $3,290 from 1 to 6 months post-enrollment and by $3,027 from 7 to 12 months post-enrollment.
Supporting Your Team
Telemedicine was not created to take jobs from on-site doctors but to offer them support and increase community access to specialties that may not be available otherwise. To build a successful Hybrid Care Team for your hospital’s Alzheimer’s patients, healthcare organizations should look into increasing Palliative and Neurology support specifically. The increase in support will offer a better work balance to your staff and reduce provider burnout.
Palliative Care Support
Palliative care is often confused with hospice care because both provide comfort solutions. It is important to note that while hospice care is a type of palliative care, palliative care is not just for end-of-life. Palliative care is a subspecialty of medicine that can start at the time of diagnosis for anyone with a severe illness. This care can include comfort care and treatment throughout the patient’s lifetime. Eagle Telemedicine lightens the load by delivering thorough diagnosis and care via virtual exams, diagnostics and provider-to-provider consultations, delivering critical disease and symptom management.
Neurology Physician Support
It is no surprise that Neurologists are in short supply. Between the aging population increase in neurodegenerative disorders and the mounting shortage to begin with, the gap is widening between the supply and demand of neurologic services. The lack of providers comes as concerning news for those in need of Alzheimer’s and dementia support. Those looking after patients and individuals suffering from the disease are having to travel even further for reliable support. This is where a tele-neurologist can boost your hybrid care team. Tele-Neurologists not only consult with patients on their care but also offer valuable consultations with primary care and emergency care physicians on neurological conditions, enhancing the ability of patients to secure informed medical guidance. This will allow your patients to receive care closer to home, and your hospital will become a resilient provider of the community’s specialized services.
Sadly, Alzheimer’s and dementia are on the rise. Without a cure or proper guidance, patients will soon become an increased strain on hospital resources, affecting the quality of care and, ultimately, the patient’s quality of life. Through telemedicine, CMOs can offer their hospital teams the resources they need to deliver quality, hybridized care. To add telemedicine to your team, look into all Eagle Telemedicine can provide. We offer 20 specialties with over 450 physicians supporting hospitals nationwide.
