How To Overcome Post-COVID Barriers To Telemedicine?

The term telemedicine was coined when an Australian doctor used a two-way radio to transmit a medical advertisement in 1900. But the meaning of the term has evolved drastically over time. Telemedicine refers to providing virtual remote healthcare with the healthcare service provider and the patient in different physical locations.

Today, the communication tools used in telemedicine are smaller, more advanced, and far more effective than the tools that were used when telemedicine first originated.

Initially, telemedicine technologies were meant to provide medical services to those who lived in regions that did not have a hospital. However, for people living in developed and developing countries, these technologies are a matter of convenience rather than a necessity. In the wake of the recent COVID-19 virus outbreak, things have changed significantly.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. Governments all around the world have initiated nationwide lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus. In times such as this, people are restricted from leaving their homes. If people require any healthcare service, the only option they have is to use a telehealth app.

These apps allow them to consult with a medical professional from the comfort of their homes. In such dire times, telemedicine apps have once again become a necessity. Analysts predict that the telemedicine industry will grow significantly in the coming years.

How Can We Overcome These Barriers To Telemedicine?

Telemedicine solutions do have their drawbacks, but telemedicine can overcome its barriers and reach their full potential if patients and healthcare service providers are appropriately educated about telehealth services. Here are some of the ways in which these telemedicine barriers can be overcome.

Using EHR

The use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) provides doctors with a complete history of a patient’s illnesses. This improves the accuracy of the diagnosis and reduces the probability of misdiagnosis. It also speeds up the process of treating the patient.

Monitoring The Patients

With the help of telehealth solutions, healthcare providers can monitor patients after their treatment. By checking on patients after they have been discharged, hospital readmissions can be reduced. This also helps the patients trust the virtual healthcare industry more. As a result, they will feel encouraged to use telehealth apps even for more severe illnesses.

Broadband Funding

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has stated that funding for broadband internet is imperative to level the playing field in the healthcare industry. The FCC’s initiatives such as Connected Care NPRM, and the Rural Digital Opportunity fund are striving to bring reliable broadband networks with low latency and sufficient upload bandwidth to support telehealth requirements in rural areas.

Telemedicine Training

Many healthcare organizations lack a formal structure and the technological sophistication that is required to adopt telemedicine services and more advanced healthcare delivery models. This barrier can be resolved by incorporating telemedicine training as part of the medical school curriculum.

This will change society’s expectations of medical professionals in the future. As a result, healthcare professionals will be trained to use the right telemedicine equipment and keep up with the ever-changing advancements in technology.

Reimbursement Regulations

The policies that deal with reimbursement rules in the healthcare industry have not been updated to include telemedicine services. As more healthcare organizations have started to use telemedicine technologies to create new revenue streams, several medical service providers have started to lobby for more favorable payment policies.

As a result, more states have started to enact new telehealth insurance coverage. In the near future, the current payment parity laws will be amended to account for the rising popularity of telemedicine.