Telemedicine Comes of Age in Era of Covid 19
(Monarch Beach, CA) – “It took a virus to demonstrate the beauty and proficiency of telemedicine effectively,” mused CEO is US Tele-Medicine, Jacques von Speyer, “
Twelve years ago when we commenced operations, the term telehealth was an arcane notion to almost all healthcare executives nationwide. Indeed, there were exceptions, but by and large, it was relegated to the unknown and, therefore, impracticable. “ Currently, we hear the term telemedicine being touted by no less a personage as the President of the United States. This newly realized world of telemedicine is enjoying lavish platitudes poured on by the endless array of medical experts appearing on our screens. The industry well receives all of it.
“Perhaps this pandemic will fortify the health industry to bring telemedicine to the point where it has the most beneficial and immediate impact on the industry at large, concerning access, costs, and of course, patients’ lives.” Said von Speyer. “We focus on managing chronic illness. That’s where the bulk of national healthcare costs reside, and paradoxically that is where there is a definitive lack of access to care and care continuum.” Chronic illness, according to von Speyer, is one of the dominant indicators responsible for swollen healthcare costs and illogically, that spending produces a consistent increase in morbidities found in vast populations. He contends that in addition to lack of access, it comes down to the current human condition, which willingly yet unintentionally avoids compliance to the detriment of its health. It lacks merely consistent guidance and comfort. With citizens now isolated, this perhaps best demonstrates that telemedicine is the perfect tool to deliver consistent access and personalized medical care by video or phone to millions?
It is not difficult to imagine the impact it could have on the lives of those battling hypertension, diabetes, COPD, heart conditions, or even behavioral issues. “There was time, only a short while ago that the medically underserved populations were primarily found in rural America,” explained von Speyer, “however, for many years now, the dense urban populations are as underserved as rural areas. To combat chronic lifestyle illnesses and bring patients to satisfactory health, through total regimen compliance, in reality, requires at least three medical visits per month. That never happens in a medically underserved population. Only telemedicine can do that effectively against any standard.” Now that the nation is keenly aware of telemedicine, albeit in a manner in which million-dollar advertising campaigns could not generate, quite unfortunately, the question now is adoption.
Will the national healthcare industry adopt telemedicine as a valuable operational platform to mitigate the lack of access to medical care and unreasonable escalating costs? “I don’t see much of choice, do you?” said von Speyer. “Couple telemedicine with the mind-blowing array of innovative telematics and sensors now available, and you will change the quality of life and increase the longevity of millions of deserving folks in the United States. It’s as crucial and elementary as that.”