How Telehealth Is Saving Hospitals Money & Improving Patient Experience

Today’ hospitals are under increasing pressure.

From emergency departments and outpatient surgical suites to laboratory services and ICUs, they’re expected to deliver a range of expert medical services and an exceptional patient experience across every department. At the same time, these vital healthcare hubs are also being called on to lower costs, navigate ever-changing reimbursement policies, improve community and population health, and prevent clinician burnout in the face of a growing provider shortage.

Fortunately, the increasing availability of telehealth platforms offers any hospital – but especially those in rural and underserved communities – a cost-effective means of meeting these challenges for the benefit of patients, providers, and the facility itself.

Telehealth: The Key to Small Hospital Survival

Consolidation has allowed large urban hospitals and academic medical centers to thrive in today’s increasingly demanding healthcare environment. But as advanced and innovative treatment options become more and more concentrated among the major facilities, smaller hospitals are struggling to survive.

In fact, according to a recent University of North Carolina study, 113 small hospitals across the United States have closed since 2010. Such closures can have disastrous consequences for the patients these facilities once served, especially if the nearest emergency room and acute care center is located more than 50 miles away.

Telehealth is one solution that could finally reverse this trend.

Digital and virtual technologies allow providers to offer patients the care they need, no matter when and where they need it. These technologies can also be leveraged to deliver non-clinical services -- provider training, administrative meetings, continuing medical education, and more – in a way that supports and enhances the entire healthcare organization.

How Hospital, Patients, and Providers Benefit from Telehealth

Far too many people in the United States must travel hours from home just to access the medical care they need, especially if their condition requires more advanced treatments and specialists.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Today’s digital and virtual technologies allow patients to easily connect with distant hospitals and specialists from their smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer. At the same time, a robust telehealth program that includes virtual visits, consults with offsite practitioners, and remote monitoring of patients, either at home or in the post-acute setting, is an effective pathway for any hospital – large or small, rural or urban – looking to expand and enhance its services, improve patient outcomes and overall satisfaction, or increase revenues while lowering costs.

Hospitals that have already launched telehealth services are realizing significant benefits:

• Expanded Options for Care: Small hospitals and rural medical centers are leveraging virtual platforms to offer a broader range of services, including adult and pediatric specialty care, e-ICUs, postsurgical transfers, remote patient monitoring, urgent care, and more
• Better Manage Capacity: The ability to connect with offsite providers as needed has given small and rural hospitals the ability to better balance patient needs and clinician workloads.
• Improved Patient Follow-up: Remote monitoring of recently discharged patients ensures earlier intervention when problems arise, reducing the potential for hospital readmissions. Remote monitoring also offers patients and providers a more efficient way to manage COPD, heart failure, and other chronic medical conditions.
• Enhanced Continuity of Care: Virtual platforms are allowing doctors, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and pharmacies to stay up to date on each patient’s health status and easily exchange medical records, medication lists, and discharge plans.
• Better Community Outreach: Telehealth technology has allowed hospitals to establish healthcare programs for underserved populations, such as inmates at a local prison or those relying on nearby homeless shelters, without significant capital outlays.
• Keep Families Involved with a Loved One’s Care: Virtual hospital visits are allowing family members to be present during daily rounds, no matter how far away they might live.
• Prevent Long Emergency Room Waits: Telehealth platforms are facilitating more efficient care by quickly connecting emergency room patients to radiologists, specialists, and laboratories anywhere they're located.
• Improve Options for Advanced Expertise: With the aid of telehealth platforms, smaller hospitals are connecting patients with top specialists at larger urban and academic medical centers without the need to transfer those patients offsite.
• Attract a Younger Demographic: Not only do Millennials and Gen-Z now account for the entire population currently under 40, but they also prefer virtual healthcare visits over traditional office visits.
• Prevent Provider Burnout: Doctors are incredibly vulnerable to burnout, especially in rural communities without large numbers of providers. Telehealth technology is allowing physicians to keep more flexible hours, conduct virtual patient visits from home, and earn additional revenue by offering evening and weekend appointments.
• Improved Patient Retention: When small hospitals virtually connect patients with distant specialists or preferred providers, they're less likely to lose those patients to large, high-profile hospitals.

Innovative Telehealth Solutions for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers

Although a strong telehealth program will absolutely help any hospital lower costs and improve the patient experience, getting these services up and running requires precisely the right tools in terms of ergonomics, workflow, security, and safety.

First Healthcare Products has had the privilege of serving the medical community since 1945, and we’re ready to partner with hospitals and other acute care facilities to ensure the success of their telehealth efforts. From our Move-It line of telemedicine carts and telehealth tablet roll stands to WOW carts and EMR/EHR charting technology, we’re confident our innovative, high-quality, and ergonomically superior solutions will enable your hospital to leverage telehealth technology to improve both patient experiences and outcomes. And if the perfect-fit solution isn’t already available, we’re always more than happy to customize a solution that’s ideal for your unique needs.

We’ve already helped hundreds of hospital systems and acute care facilities make the transition to telehealth. Our tireless approach to customer service, seasoned sales support, commitment to long-term customer satisfaction, and industry best warranties have earned First Healthcare the trust and respect of providers across the United States and worldwide.

To learn how our perfect-fit solutions can benefit your hospital, your patients, and your providers please contact:

First Healthcare Products at 800.854.8304 to arrange for your COMPLIMENTARY TELEHEALTH DEMO today.