As the demand for healthcare services expands, and physician shortages are limiting access to care, physicians are experiencing significant burnout and fatigue. One of the most revolutionizing ways to overcome this challenge is telemedicine.
Telemedicine is allowing physicians to treat patients virtually, expanding their reach and reducing the workload and stress levels of on-staff specialists. While smaller community hospitals are adopting telemedicine purely out of necessity, every hospital type across all landscapes, including larger academic medical centers health systems, are discovering the value of telemedicine to close the specialty access gap for patients and communities.
Increasing accessibility to care
One of the most significant advantages of advanced telemedicine is that it makes specialty care more accessible to patients. Often due to limited specialists, patients are traveling great distances to see a specialist, impacting the patient experience and reducing the community hospital’s ability to benefit from the specialist revenue that can contribute to their resilience. Even worse, when patients must travel for care, there is greater instance of averting needed treatment due to the distance hardship.
Recently Eric Michaels, host of eHealthRadioNetwork, interviewed Jason Povio, President and COO for Eagle Telemedicine to discuss telemedicine’s many benefits for patients and hospitals. Listen to the podcast here:
In the conversation, Eric Michaels and Jason Povio discuss the following questions:
- What exactly is telemedicine and what healthcare challenges does it solve?
- What is the distinction between telemedicine and tele-health?
- What types of hospitals are using telemedicine today?
- How are patients benefitting from telemedicine?
- Why is telemedicine an attractive option for doctors and how does a physician start a telemedicine practice?
During the lively conversation, Povio shares:
“Telemedicine is just one arrow of many in the quiver that really contributes to improving the healthcare delivery system. It supports access to critical specialty care in communities that have little to no access. It supports physician recruitment and retention through augmenting existing resources. For those smaller community-based facilities with one or two specialists that for years they’ve been the hero. They’re trying to manage an outpatient clinic; they’re taking calls from the hospital and they’re getting burnt out.
“We can come alongside them support them and really be a force amplifier in that particular specialty, really mitigating that burn out. We can take the night and weekend calls and give that community-based physician a break by integrating into their existing practice to really come alongside them as a partner in the delivery of care. It can really help with patient retention.
“You know it’s your calling if there’s intrinsic value that ‘fills your cup’ every day. What I do every day gives me a smile, knowing that we’re impacting the lives of patients across the country.”
Listen in to the eHealth Podcast, then learn more about the benefits and efficiencies of telemedicine here.
