Thursday, January 5, 2012

Medical providers use video conferencing to improve care, reduce readmissions

The use of video conferencing solutions to provide medical care to patients, or telemedicine, is becoming more popular all over the world, as its associated benefits increase. Not only does telemedicine enable populations in rural areas to receive high-quality healthcare, but providers can also offer continual care and reduce readmissions with video conferencing technology.

Healthcare IT News reported one way video conferencing services are changing the healthcare field is by enabling continual care to patients through virtual technology. For patients who require increased monitoring and care, telemedicine devices can be used in patients' homes so healthcare providers can track blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar levels and other statistics remotely. This can reduce costs and improve patient care.

In an interview with Fierce Mobile Healthcare, Larry Hegland, CMO at Westin hospital, said the facility's tele-ICU program provides services to patients 24 hours a day either on-site or remotely using video conferencing. The results of the video-based ICU has been lower ICU lengths of stay for patients and fewer readmissions, as patients are able to be treated more efficiently. The hospital leverages direct clinician-to-clinician video conferencing solutions and remote patient monitoring to prevent errors and reduce the need to come back to the hospital when complications arise.


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