E Medicine and Telehealth Recommendations for Implementation

Telehealth Recommendation

E-medicine and Telehealth are ways of sharing medical information pertaining to patients through the use of electronic/digital communication portals. Various technologies enable health care providers to use these means -- from smart phones to email to virtual connections, Telehealth is bringing the 21st century to paient-provider relationships and helping more adequately and efficiently to facilitate the provider in meeting the individual needs of the patient (MayoClinic, 2015).

One way to meet these needs is through providing home care services that allow providers to support an alternative (more traditional) approach to health care via home visit services. Telehealth makes this possible as medical information can be accessed by the practitioner on the go and records virtually taken with one wherever one goes so that the patient does not have to be troubled to visit the clinic.

For this reason alone, investing in Telehealth can be worth it. The statistical research indicates that Telehealth is the next stage in developmental health care and is being implemented on a major scale, with over half of all U.S. hospitals incorporating telemedicine into their health care programs and with nearly all surveyed health care executives asserting that their organizations are already utilizing or implementing Telehealth (eVisit, 2016). Telehealth makes providing health care easier for practitioners. Moreover, Telehealth is popular with patients: "About 74% of patients in the U.S. would use telehealth services," according to surveys and "most patients are comfortable with having all of their health records securely available on the cloud" (eVisit, 2016). Other statistics show that "about 74% of patients are comfortable with communicating with their doctors using technology instead of seeing them in person" while "only 16% of patients would prefer to go to the emergency room for a minor ailment if they also could access telemedicine services" (eVisit, 2016). These numbers indicate a strong demand for Telehealth services in the marketplace.

Data tracking is improved through Telehealth technology because it allows information to be stored in one secure place -- the cloud -- where it can be accessed without fear of records being lost or misplaced in transference from one office to another or through the physical exchange of hands. Digital exchange is a preferable method because it leaves behind an electronic footprint that can be followed every step of the way.

For these reasons, Telehealth is a recommended move for this organization.

There are many available formats and software packages that health care providers can utilize in order to take advantage of Telehealth.

For example, the Homecare Homebase is a perfect example of how Telehealth can positively impact the organization. It is a software application that functions as a cloud-based platform for operations, finance and clinical objectives within the agency of a homecare plan. It is a home-based software system that streamlines the homecare health care activity as though it were being monitored at a hospital. Essentially, it is hospital-style organization in a homecare setting.

What it does for the health care provider is a number of functions that would otherwise be time-consuming. First of all, it measures and automatically updates all business transactions and procedures so that everything is efficiently monitored and recorded in an organized manner.

Second, it provides a link-up for doctors, staff in the field and staff in the office to use so that is constant communication or at least the ability to communicate -- just as though one were still in the hospital.

Third, it allows the homecare practitioner to operate within the healthcare facility framework from the homecare station through a CCD interoperability function within the software program. It routes, prioritizes and processes the client's needs while equipping the practitioner with a control panel that acts as guide for what to do next.

Fourth, it provides frequent updates so that the software's user is consistently within regulatory compliance. This is possible thanks to the cloud-base support system, which keeps the software up-to-date with the latest documents and rules and regulations (Homecare Homebase, n.d.). EMRs or electronic medical records were previously only accessible via direct connection into a provider's office. Like the software application Homecare Homebase, the EMR contains data over a specific period of time that is tracked and can be retrieved by the practitioner; it also contains identifying information about the patient, a calendar of dates for visits, screenings, etc., and a monitor of how the individual client/patient is measuring up to standards at which he or she should be; and finally it is designed to provide improved care for patients. Prior to the Homecare Homebase system, the EMR would have to be printed and mailed to practitioners requesting a patient's record. This process would take days and sometimes even weeks if a particular office was swamped with paperwork (Benefits of EHRs, n.d.).