Telehealth's Advantages During the Coronavirus Epidemic
It is critical that offsite or virtual alternatives are available for patients in need during this difficult time when the country's health care system is focused on providing care to COVID-19 patients. This includes genetic services, which can help a cancer patient make life-saving decisions about surgery and treatment, or provide an elusive diagnosis for patients with rare genetic conditions.
Through video and phone consultations, our genetic experts work with patients in all 50 states. During the pandemic, this ensures patient safety and allows us to maintain service continuity and rapid appointment availability. During this time of need, Cura Health stands ready to provide virtual services to patients, providers, and health-care systems. For more information, please contact us.
The advantages of telehealth are becoming increasingly clear as the coronavirus outbreak spreads. In response to the pandemic, health care systems across the country are racing to incorporate and scale up telehealth services, with the federal government also expanding Medicare coverage for these services. The current situation confirms what many telehealth providers and health experts have long believed: that telehealth technologies can improve access to health care, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and reduce illness exposure for both patients and providers.
Telehealth's Benefits
How can telehealth help you during this coronavirus outbreak? Assume you're sick with a fever and a cough. You could make a virtual appointment with your doctor via phone or video to discuss your symptoms and assess your overall risk level using telehealth. You are not required to leave your home and risk infecting others with whatever illness you may be suffering from. By avoiding contact with others who may be sick, you're most likely keeping yourself safe. You also reduce the risk of harming your doctor or other health-care workers in an office or emergency room visit, which is a major concern as the health-care system deals with an influx of patients.
Telehealth Services are on the Rise
Telehealth has been around in some form since the 1990s, but it has only recently become more popular. People have grown accustomed to using technology to handle many aspects of their daily lives, and technologies such as videoconferencing have become commonplace. According to a Mercer survey of employers conducted in 2019, nearly 90% of them included telemedicine as part of their employee health benefits. According to the same survey, more than 40% of large companies provide teletherapy to their employees (using telehealth technology to provide behavioural health care). Telemedicine appears to be on its way to becoming a standard part of health care in the coming years.
Soothing Fears and Educating Health Workers
During the coronavirus outbreak, telehealth provides additional benefits for keeping the health-care system operational. Online medical conferences, for example, can take the place of in-person gatherings. Health-care trainees who have been sent home by their institutions can continue their education through online courses. Furthermore, telehealth can provide real-time mental health care by connecting people with a telehealth counsellor for anxiety or depression support.
Virtual Genetic Counseling Services from Cura Health
Cura Health is ready to provide virtual genetic services to patients, providers, and health care systems in need at this time, as it has in the past. Testing to inform surgical decisions, chemotherapy selection for cancer patients, and determining a diagnosis for patients with rare genetic conditions are all examples of life-saving decisions that may be required even during the pandemic.
If patients are unable to travel to a hospital for in-person genetic services, our experts can provide genetic counselling and other services remotely. To reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission during this period of social distancing, this is critical. It's clinical team members can step in to help with overflow patients if more staffing is needed. Furthermore, our medical genetic experts and genetic counsellors are available to consult with medical providers, health systems, and hospitals who may require specialised genetic expertise that is not available locally.
