Blog
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Telemedicine and its Evolution into Rehabilitation Therapy
The rising cost of healthcare is not an issue that only impacts a specific region of the country or specific demographic – it impacts all of us and continues to be a hot bed of debate and disagreement. There are proponents who advocate cutting programs and reimbursements which ultimately means that the quality of patient care will suffer.
Additionally, insufficient care in certain areas of the country has resulted in an inordinate increase in Emergency department visits. According to the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, there were 110.2 million emergency room visits in 2004, 25% of which it was determined were for non-urgent or unknown causes.*
As a result, Telemedicine or Telehealth is on the rise. Traditionally, telemedicine has been implemented primarily by physicians. Telehealth consults are characterized as an ideal solutions for patients who do not have the ability or solution to seek care outside of an emergency room visit. The idea is that telehealth will be a way to monitor a pre-existing condition from the comfort of their own which is both a time and cost saving measure.
What does this mean to you as a therapist? Reflectx has recently been approached to fill therapy specific Telehealth programs within the VA hospital system. It comes as no surprise in an era of Facebook, Twitter, My Space and other almost instantaneous communication tools – that we now have the ability to communicate in a similar manner when it comes to healthcare and for our purposes – therapy services.
As a travel therapist for Reflectx Services, you would be required to live in close proximity to the specific VA hospital that you would be serving. The process would begin very much like what you do now. The patient would come in for an initial evaluation to allow you to assess what therapy is needed and design a treatment plan accordingly. The ideal skill set for this position would be a strong background in outpatient evaluation and treatment. The fact that the patient does not have to leave home should not allow us to mistakenly perceive it as a home health position.
Once completed, the patient would be outfitted with the necessary technology to communicate remotely and sent home. In many cases, it may be a webcam that is outfitted in the patient’s home. Rremote monitoring would be at pre-arranged times throughout a day or week – you would connect with the patient to monitor exercises and progress and provide appropriate feedback and guidance.
“Remote monitoring is increasingly recognized as a valuable tool for enhancing care quality in chronic disease management,” says Max E. Stachura, MD, director for the Center for Telehealth at the Medical College of Georgia and the report’s lead researcher. “For patients, these technologies mean fewer office and emergency room visits, fewer and reduced duration of hospitalizations, less travel time and expense, and increase access-especially for the elderly, the physically challenged, the homebound and rural patients. For clinicians, they mean more informed decision making, enhanced patient compliance and more efficient case management.”
For more information on this program and other VA Hospital opportunities with Reflectx Staffing please call us at 800-806-6026 and reference this article to be transferred to our Government Account Manager.
*Article Source (click for PDF) “Welcome to the World of Telehealth: Physicians Reaping Significant Benefits” Michael Gorton
Suzann Metz, National Recruitment Director
7/21/2009 9:50:00 AM
Comments :
Add your comments :