The Role of Telehealth in Post-Discharge Care Management

Le et al (2014) reported that the period after discharge is as risky as the time spent in a hospital; about 20% of patients develop complications or get readmitted within a month. This statistic shows concern that needs to be paid on post-discharge care management so that patients can be safe and have a good recovery. Telehealth over the past few years has become instrumental in post-discharge patient care and healthcare providers’ real-time supervision of patients. Today, telehealth serves as the middle ground between hospital and home to transform the kind of care given to patients and one such name is Medi Bridge. 

Understanding Post-Discharge Care 

Post-Discharge Care and Its Significance 

Post-discharge care means the continuing assessment and treatment of the patient as well as follow-up on the recommendations that a patient is given once they are discharged from a hospital or any other healthcare facility. This time is critical because the patients are vulnerable to suffering from complications, medication mishaps, or lack of appropriate follow-up treatment. Appropriate follow-up care lowers the possibility of other hospitalization, increases the best results, and fashions a sharply better overall picture of patient care. 

Demand and Supply of Post-Discharge Care in Adult Medical-Surgical Patients 

 Conventional post-discharge care entails the patient’s periodic visits to the doctor’s office and/or phone communications with his/her healthcare team. However, with this approach, there are downsides like; being slow to respond to changes, not feasible to monitor continually, and it depends on the patient’s ability to describe their symptoms well. These challenges can result in patients experiencing a cut in the kind of attention they deserve hence leading to complications and admission repetitions. 

 Telehealth: An Overview of the Impact on the Post-Discharge Management 

 Where the audits and assessments prescriptively proscribed say-on-pay, the results of our observational analysis for the sample firms indicated that continuous monitoring and real-time data are favored over post-filing evaluation and ‘check-the-box’ compliance. 

Continuous assessment of a patient’s condition is one of the ways through which telehealth is beneficial in post-discharge care. With the help of wearables, remote tracking systems, and telehealth applications, physicians, and other healthcare practitioners can gather extemporaneous information concerning patients’ described physical condition, signs, symptoms, and compliance with prescribed treatments. As a result, continuous information flow enables providers to identify any signs of the patient’s condition worsening to take intervention. 

 Improved Communication and Follow-Up

Since telehealth involves the use of various technology accessories to convey a message, it provides easy ways through which follow-up appointments and checkups can be conducted. Telehealth applications such as video conferencing and secure messaging allow the patient to speak to their care team from the comfort of their home and reduce the stress of traveling and time scarcity as well as that of providers. It also encourages effective communication, so if there’s any problem that would arise, it would easily be conveyed to the relevant authority eventually improving the quality of care. 

Personalized Care Plans 

Telehealth can be utilized to form individual care plans while considering the patient’s health status. Thus, based on the data received while utilizing the RMM system and the results of telemonitoring the patient’s condition, the healthcare providers can modify the treatment plan, dose, and frequency of medications, as well as the further frequency of checkups. Such an approach increases the chances of a better outcome for patients and a faster healing process with fewer chances of revisits to the hospital. 

The Pros of Telehealth in Post-Discharge Management 

Reduction in Hospital Readmissions 

Telehealth in post-discharge care has been known to have one of the most outstanding advantages of lowering hospital readmission rates of patients who suffer from chronic illnesses. Telehealth interventions can also save up to $9300 per patient resulting in a reduced readmission rate of up to 25 %. Telehealth thus reduces complications that would otherwise require a patient’s readmission to the hospital through early and ongoing assessments and communications. 

Higher Patient Involvement and Satisfaction 

Telehealth puts into the hands of patients the ability to be fully involved in their post-discharge care. Through enrolment into the use of telehealth for tracking and sharing vital information with caregivers, patients are placed on a platform where they feel responsible for the processes of healing. This involvement is usually felt by the patients in the end resulting in better patient satisfaction due to the perception created that patients are more cared for and, hence better placed to manage their condition at home. 

 Potential of Health Care Savings 

 Preventing patients from returning to the hospital is not only advantageous for people’s health but also aids in removing a substantial load from the healthcare organizations’ budgets. For a patient, avoiding admission to the hospital and the emergency room saves thousands of dollars. Also, telehealth can help in the consistent use of resources by allowing the providers to attend to the patients that require their attention more as compared to making physical follow-ups with all discharged patients. 

 Better Management of Chronic Conditions

Of the patients who have been discharged, follow-up care mostly entails continued management of their chronic diseases in the manner in which the healthcare facility or provider sees fit. Telehealth is quite effective for these patients; it ensures constant monitoring and can attend to the patients at the slightest sign of a problem. It also does so in a way that is more efficient than intermittent acute care support by preventing escalation of chronic diseases and thereby, enhancing the health status of those with such diseases. 

Telehealth in the Context of Post-Discharge Treatment 

 Expanding Telehealth Capabilities 

 Telehealth is an excellent tool in post-discharge care, and as the world goes more digital the possibilities will only continue to grow. Advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are also warmed that could improve the performance of remote monitoring by forecasting complications and advising on appropriate care. Furthermore, enhancements in new forms of clothing integrated with wearable devices and an expansion in biosensor technology will provide patients with tracking at a deeper level. 

 Expansion and Support by Policymakers 

Telehealth creates a foundation for post-discharge care, however, to operate more effectively, it has to be utilized by a large number of healthcare providers across the country and be supported by policymakers. For telehealth to be further adopted in healthcare, the systems require more funds to purchase components that support telehealth, Avian training necessary for the functioning of telehealth, and obstacles that hinder patients’ access to telehealth solutions. The government can assist in telehealth by putting down some policies relating to telehealth, making sure that health facilities are reimbursed for offering telehealth, and encouraging health organizations to make telehealth a common practice. 

 Improving Health Equity 

Telehealth was seen to enhance health equity by establishing care for patients from regions that are not well-served or are located far from medical facilities. Expanding care management through telemedicine after hospital discharge will focus on regarding patients who might not be able to seek further care because of the distance and means of transport. However, it is for this reason that work needs to be done to bring technology equality regarding patients and bring about provision for those in a position to benefit from telehealth. 

Conclusion 

Telehealth has emerged to have a growing role within the continuum of care with advantages such as decreased hospital readmission, improved patient-centeredness, and financial efficiency in the healthcare business. In this case, telehealth such as Medi Bridge assists in giving great attention to patient needs and requirements during the most sensitive period of shifting from the hospital to home care. The usefulness of telehealth will also increase in the future as technology develops and healthcare organizations focus on post-discharge care, which will benefit patients as well as change the forms of care delivery.