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Telehealth improves experience for chronic pain patients

06/10/2020

The American Society of Anesthesiologists has heard at its annual Anesthesiology 2020 meeting that telehealth technology has been affording positive experiences for patients. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, patients who saw a pain medicine specialist via telehealth saved time and money and were highly satisfied with their experience, according to a study presented at the virtual event. Conducted from August 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, the study highlights how many chronic pain patients are confident they will receive good care via telehealth, while at the same time benefiting from avoiding lengthy commutes and less time spent in traffic. The results bolster the case for provider adoption of telehealth technology, which has already seen a significant rise in usage as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and patients being cautious about traveling to healthcare facilities for appointments for fear of contracting the virus. [Related reading: Older patients use telehealth almost as much as younger ones, report finds] While patients who are being evaluated for new conditions will likely be better served by an initial face-to-face consultation, follow-ups can occur efficiently once the relationship with the provider has been established. Indeed, the anesthesiologists at the conference predict up to 50% of visits could be conducted remotely.

Telehealth expected to account for $29 billion in US healthcare services in 2020

17/09/2020

Telehealth has gone from being a supplementary means of accessing healthcare services to one of the primary ways patients seek treatment, a new report has revealed. According to Doximity's 2020 State of Telemedicine Report, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on telehealth, driving its adoption. In fact, the report says that telehealth is expected to account for more than 20% of all medical visits in the United States this year and drive $29 billion worth of healthcare services revenue. The Doximity report also found that as much as $106 billion of current US healthcare spend could be virtualized by 2023. This projection highlights the increasing acceptance and adoption of telehealth among both patients and physicians. The report says there is a likelihood that care providers will find themselves competing to offer the best telemedicine experience. Prior to the pandemic, just 14% of American patients had taken advantage of telehealth services. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, this figure has risen by 57%. For those with a chronic illness the increase was 77%. Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents said they plan to use telehealth once the pandemic ends, while 27% said they feel more comfortable using telemedicine since the pandemic. You can read the full Doximity report here. [Related reading: Use of telehealth technology among US specialists increased during pandemic]

Use of telehealth technology among US specialists increased during pandemic

28/08/2020

Medical specialists, including cardiologists, gastroenterologists, pulmonologists, and respiratory physicians, significantly increased their use of telehealth technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research shows. According to the survey by data and analytics company GlobalData, 79% of US medical specialists said their use of telemedicine technology had increased since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. One in five (20%) said their usage had stayed the same. Of the medical professionals who said their use of telehealth services had increased, almost 30% reported an increase of 81% to 100%. Prior to the outbreak, less than half of the medical professionals surveyed were using telehealth services. But their experiences must have been positive, as more than three-quarters said they will continue to take advantage of telehealth once the pandemic is over. Interestingly, while 24% of medical professionals reported that they would not continue to use telehealth technology going forward, most said it was because they needed to see their patients in person to conduct examinations. Speaking about the findings of the survey, Kathryn Whitney, director of thematic analysis at GlobalData, said: “Telemedicine has been critical during the COVID-19 pandemic to limit the risk of person-to-person transmission of the virus and to reduce the burden on overwhelmed healthcare systems.”

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