As the coronavirus pandemic strains America’s healthcare infrastructure toward the breaking point, telemedicine is waiting in the wings to help relieve some of the pressure on providers and facilities.
Introduction
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly across the United States with hundreds of new cases being reported almost every day. Officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the virus has infected people on every continent except Antarctica.
Because the virus is highly contagious, health authorities everywhere have urged citizens to distance themselves socially from one another. But those who fear they might have contracted the virus desperately need to know if indeed they have COVID-19 and what steps must be taken next.
Offering at least an interim solution to this apparent quandary is telemedicine, which offers a way for people with real health concerns to reach out to medical professionals while still avoiding face-to-face contact.
It also provides a much-needed shot in the arm for the telemedicine sector of the healthcare industry. Despite its many advantages, telemedicine has been utilized by only a small segment of the American people, according to a mid-2019 survey by J.D. Power.
In fact, that survey showed that only 9.6 percent of Americans had actually used telehealth services. Even more surprising, the survey indicated that nearly three-quarters of Americans either are unaware of the telemedicine option or claim they have no access to it.
In the COVID-19 crisis, the demand for accurate medical advice has increased almost exponentially. Standing ready to help meet that demand is telemedicine, a service that’s readily available to virtually all Americans whether they realize it or not.
What Is Telemedicine?
The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) defines telemedicine as “the remote delivery of health care services and clinical information using telecommunications technology.” These services and data are delivered to health consumers via the internet, satellite, telephone, and wireless media.
Although admittedly the most primitive and simplistic form of telemedicine, a telephone exchange between a doctor and patient falls under the overall definition of this branch of medicine. Today, however, such exchanges are typically facilitated by computer, tablet, or smartphone, one or more of which is available to almost every American.
In addition to telemedicine encounters initiated by individuals, many large companies, including certain insurers, have built kiosks designed to facilitate telemedicine consultations for their employees or insureds. Many of these kiosks feature state-of-the-art diagnostic tools that allow a doctor to remotely check blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and other vital statistics.
What Telemedicine Can Do
It would be foolhardy to suggest that telemedicine can provide a one-stop treatment modality for COVID-19. That would be impossible. However, it could prove invaluable as a screening tool, helping to identify individuals whose symptoms are consistent with the virus and then referring them to the appropriate providers for follow-up care.
Telemedicine might also offer a way to lighten the workload of medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. It would offer those with other serious health complaints a safe way to seek medical advice without exposing themselves to possible infection with the virus.
In an interview with Time.com, Joe Kvedar, M.D., president-elect of the ATA, said telemedicine might also provide a screening tool for presumptive virus patients arriving at a hospital for care. In such cases, doctors could do an initial intake using virtual platforms, thus protecting themselves against possible infection. This would allow the patient to be held in isolation until decisions could be made about the next steps in treatment.
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What’s Held Telemedicine Back?
As previously noted, the telemedicine platform has been woefully underutilized, at least on a patient-to-provider basis, until recently. However, within the hospital setting, the adoption of this virtual platform has been much more forward-looking.
In a recently issued fact sheet, the American Hospital Association noted that “76 percent of U.S. hospitals connect with patients and consulting practitioners at a distance through the use of video and other technology.” That percentage might be even higher, the fact sheet suggests, if Medicare coverage for such services weren’t still so limited.
At the time the fact sheet was published, Medicare was still lagging behind Medicaid and private payers in its coverage of telehealth services. The AHA noted that Medicare had recently taken some incremental steps to broaden its telemedicine coverage. Specifically expanded were coverages for stroke patients and substance abuse treatment. Also expanded were payments to clinicians for virtual check-ins. While welcoming these incremental steps, the AHA said Medicare needed to do more to cover telemedicine services as these gradually become more mainstream.
Medicare Steps Up
As if in answer to the AHA’s prayers, and with a not-inconsiderable push from COVID-19, Medicare’s coverage for telemedicine took a giant step forward in March 2020.
Under the Trump administration’s expansion of telehealth services to combat the spread of COVID-19, providers will now be reimbursed for virtual care at the same rate they receive for in-person visits.
The vast majority of Medicare’s insureds fall into the demographic that’s been designated at highest risk from COVID-19. Through an emergency declaration under the National Emergencies and Stafford acts, Medicare will now cover e-visits, Medicare telehealth visits, and virtual check-ins, according to mHealthIntelligence.com.
China Serves as a Model
While China was the apparent source of COVID-19, it also offers a few helpful lessons about ways to use new technologies to combat the virus’s spread. Of course, the authoritarian regime in Beijing has also used draconian methods to halt the spread of the virus, and those harsh measures are unlikely to be adopted in the West.
But on the technology front, the Chinese have made widespread use of robots to interact with patients who’ve been infected by the virus, according to a recent article at CNBC.com. Early in March, the Chinese opened a field hospital staffed by robots. The hospital in Wuhan, the presumptive birthplace of the virus, can serve up to 20,000 patients.
JD Health, a telemedicine subsidiary of JD.com, China’s largest online retailer, has witnessed a tenfold increase in its monthly consultations since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to CNBC.com.
A Telemedicine Pioneer
Telemedicine technology has been the engine driving the growth of eDrugstore.com, an online medical facilitator that’s been in business since the late 1990s. In that role, eDrugstore serves as the middleman between health consumers, physicians, and pharmacies.
For consumers who need to select prescription medications, such as erectile dysfunction, hair loss, antiviral, weight loss, and allergy relief drugs, eDrugstore arranges complimentary online consultations with licensed U.S. physicians.
If the doctor determines that a patient is an appropriate candidate for a particular drug, a prescription is authorized. That prescription is then routed electronically to licensed U.S. pharmacies that fill the prescription and ship it off free of charge. To learn more about eDrugstore and the services it offers, pay a visit to eDrugstore.com.
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