It’s well-known that a physician’s bedside manner can help him reassure and relate to a patient, but what about “webside” manner? With the growing popularity of telemedicine, the bulk of the attention is given to the technology driving the industry, but providers are finding that their body language cues are taking on entirely new meanings in front of the webcam. Read more
Initiative to Gauge the Effectiveness of Telehealth Technology in Rural EMS Environments
Lexington, MA – October 24, 2017 – swyMed, a provider of exceptional-quality video telemedicine solutions, today announced that it has joined forces with the Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) on a program to implement telemedicine between Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers and a select group of trauma centers in rural West Texas. Read more
When it comes to treating stroke, every moment counts. A stroke patient only has a three-hour window from symptom onset in which access to the clot-busting and lifesaving drug tPA can do the most good; after that, the chances of recovery plummet. Unfortunately, many regional and rural hospitals don’t have a 24-hour neurologist on hand to make timely diagnoses. To make things worse, only about 27 percent of stroke patients arrive at the hospital within 3.5 hours of symptom onset, leaving nearly three-quarters of stroke patients at risk for more permanent damage. (1) In an effort to deliver care to patients in a timelier manner, systems are increasingly looking into mobile telestroke programs. Read more
To date, remote patient monitoring (RPM) has used digital technologies to collect health data from patients in one place and transmit that information securely to case managers somewhere else. This approach has proven useful for caregivers to prioritize follow-ups and monitor compliance as they have easy access to real-time data such as weight, glucose levels, blood pressure, heart rate, air flow, and even data trends measured by patients in the comfort of their homes. Now, thanks to telemedicine, Remote Patient Evaluation (RPE)—the next evolutionary step for RPM—is putting the “care” in home healthcare. Read more
If the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gets its way, VA telemedicine providers will soon be exempt from state restrictions that prohibit physicians from seeing patients in another state without being licensed to practice there. The goal of the proposed rule, the Veterans E-health and Telemedicine Support Act of 2017, is to increase veterans’ access to care and timeliness of treatment, especially in rural and underserved areas. Read more
