A rural hospital is more than a health care provider. It is also often the largest employer in the region and an economic engine. When a community loses its hospital, it also loses jobs, the ability to attract employers, and a source of lifesaving care and trusted health information. Telemedicine is a solution for rural hospitals to bring specialists to the community, stop losing patients to larger, urban facilities, and maintain their ability to serve their communities.
An excerpt from an Executive Q&A from Healthcare IT News featuring Chris Gallagher, M.D., CEO of Access TeleCare
“Traditionally, hospitals unable to care for a patient’s particular condition or need must transfer or refer the patient elsewhere. The repercussions are immediate (lost revenue for the hospital and delayed care possibly for the patient) as well as downstream (loss of patient loyalty and loss of adjacent services, such as physical therapy or swing bed).
High-acuity, inpatient telemedicine solves these problems. Specialty physicians can be in any hospital, in any state (assuming licensure) within minutes as hospitals require based on patient need. This means a patient presenting in the emergency department with stroke or cardiac symptoms, for example, can be triaged, admitted, diagnosed, and on a treatment regimen in less time than it would take to transfer them out. And, a patient seriously ill with COVID-19 or an end-stage disease can receive critical care in their local hospital, close to family, friends, and support.”
Read the full interview at: https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/how-telehealth-can-help-solve-physician-specialist-shortage
