No field is left unaffected by the growth of technology. From fast food chains to investment banking – innovations are changing the service industry. The field of patient care is no exception, and how we visit doctors is about to change in the near future.
One of the most promising trends is medical video conferencing, which allows patients to connect with a doctor face-to-face and in real-time. Skeptics quickly point out that the technology has already been available for years but wasn’t widely accepted. But a few new developments have changed this trend.
The COVID-19 pandemic
There is no doubt that the field of medicine was impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Not only there was a quick shift in priorities and research grants, but many doctors, even those who do not treat Covid, had to change their ways of working.
The risk of catching this almost unknown disease made it dangerous to visit visiting a medical facility. Many risk group patients were recommended to stay home, canceling their doctor’s appointments. Medical video conferencing arose as a risk-free compromise, allowing doctors to help those in need.
Life is back to normal in most places around the world, but video conferencing has kept its foothold in medicine. For the most part, it is due to changing patient preferences, as more than forty percent of gen Z and a third of millennials prefer digital visits with doctors over physical ones.
The rise of telemedicine
Telemedicine (or telehealth) is an umbrella term describing remote clinical services between patients and doctors. The services can take place in real-time, as in the case of a live video appointment, but can also take the form of long-distance prescriptions, reminders, diagnoses, and other health-related services.
With the right tools, most diseases can be, at least in part, treated remotely. For example, before advances in blood pressure monitors, every patient with hypertension had to visit a doctor almost daily. Now your smartwatch can measure your heart and blood pressure. The data only needs to be reported to your doctor.
The covid pandemic has fueled the rise of telemedicine by shaping patients’ habits. More important technological and legal changes still need to be implemented for some aspects of telemedicine. However, medical video conferencing already has what is needed.
Conditions for medical video conferencing
Flawless performance
All tools related to healthcare must satisfy the highest performance standards. Any disturbances or inaccuracies can have severe consequences for the well-being of patients. It applies to video conferencing solutions because smooth and uninterrupted communication is essential. Luckily, the newest software and advancements in internet speed have already solved these problems.
User-friendly design
People are used to the convenient design of online services, such as e-commerce stores. The same standard applies to online patient care. Connecting to a video conference with a doctor should not be harder than buying online. This challenge is already solved, as most solutions are universally applicable and user-friendly.
Seamless integration
Doctors don’t have time to solve technical issues themselves, and hospitals are reluctant to hire IT specialists to set up video conferencing solutions. So, companies developing video software for healthcare are motivated to make the integration as simple as possible and technical support is already included in the pricing.
Licensing and confidentiality
Legal issues of medical video conferencing are solved in most places around the world. For example, telehealth licensing in the United States is quite flexible, and more paperwork is only required for state licensing issues. Although, some treatments might legally require the patient to meet the doctor physically before starting video conferencing.
However, all of these practices are already defined. Regulations exist to serve the confidentiality of privacy and ensure the quality of treatment. For example, in the European Union, health data falls under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Medical consultations online can only be practiced by licensed physicians protecting this data.
The benefits of medical video conferencing
Improving doctor-patient relations
Availability and empathy are important to increase relationships with patients. Video conferencing software can help improve both of them. Remote appointments are easier for patients and doctors to schedule than real-life consultations, helping with availability. At the same time, the possibility of showing compassion and creating a connection isn’t so limited as with phone calls.
Helps contain diseases
The covid-19 pandemic has shown that a way to prevent the spread of diseases is by reducing physical contact. It is especially true for health institutions, which became sources of covid-19 outbreaks. Many people got infected while visiting hospitals, so replacing some visits with medical video conferencing helped to contain the disease.
Solving mobility problems
Patients with reduced mobility issues are frequent hospital visitors. A trip to the doctor is a demanding task for them and often requires assistance from friends and family. Moving at least some of the appointments to the virtual space can greatly increase their well-being and help cut costs.
Saves hospital resources
Building maintenance takes a large part of the healthcare budget away from salaries, research, and other important matters. The more physical consultations happen, the more infrastructure the hospital needs. Replacing physical consultations with video conferencing solutions can help to save space, time, and, ultimately, money.
Data analysis
Integrating medical video conferencing solutions with existing customer relationship management systems can help acquire data not available before. The hospital can know how long doctors spend with patients and whether the workload is distributed evenly.
More importantly, video calls can be recorded and used for quality assurance. For example, if there is a conflict or negative feedback from a patient, the video can be reviewed to resolve the problem more quickly.
Conclusion
The pandemic and telemedicine have prepared us for a shift in patient care. Medical video conferencing plays only a part, but all conditions for change are in place, and we can say with certainty that it is the future of patient care. Those who won’t embrace the changes will be at a competitive disadvantage.
Lucas Noah, armed with a Bachelor’s degree in Information & Technology, stands as a prominent figure in the realm of tech journalism. Currently holding the position of Senior Admin, Lucas contributes his expertise to two esteemed companies: OceanaExpress LLC and CreativeOutrank LLC. His... Read more