As healthcare professionals around the world continue to work tirelessly to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, telehealth continues to become a leading force in providing remote care to patients.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, practices that have adopted healow TeleVisits™ are finding telehealth technology to be a useful and essential means of bringing quality care to their patients – in one case even saving a life.
COVID-19 pandemic drives surge in telehealth
In 2007, Nassim Nicholas Taleb published “The Black Swan,” a study of the impact of highly improbable events. The COVID-19 pandemic is a black swan that has reshaped daily life around the globe and will leave a lasting impact on medical practices.
Televisits have been very helpful in bringing high-quality care and a level of assurance to patients during this trying time. At Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians, the largest physician-owned medical group in Ohio, 400 providers are utilizing healow TeleVisits™ to provide care to more than 450,000 patients.
Renewed focus on the doctor/patient relationship
The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has had a deep and likely lasting impact on societies around the world. In addition to the loss of life, markets have been shaken, and daily routines disrupted. The impact on healthcare has been sudden and dramatic, with a major and ongoing shift to technologies that can facilitate the delivery of care remotely.
Social distancing is a key factor in reducing the spread of the coronavirus, and healow TeleVisits™ are a safe and secure means for providers to care for their patients. Dallas Renal Group, a 40+ provider practice consisting of 14 locations throughout Texas and Oklahoma, has been actively using healow TeleVisits since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Pandemic spurs action in Congress, leads to waivers
Extraordinary times demand extraordinary responses. The coronavirus pandemic has sparked quick action from Congress, providing monetary assistance to the healthcare community as well as easing regulations.
Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians is the largest physician-owned medical group in Ohio, with 400 providers and serving more than 450,000 patients. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, physicians at COPCP needed a safe and effective way to care for their patients. healow TeleVisits™ have been that option – with over 80% of all appointments at COPCP now being televisit appointments.
Providers and patients welcoming telehealth
Across the nation, talk has turned to telehealth for improving access to medical care during — and after — the coronavirus pandemic.
When a crisis occurs, those who can quickly adapt to the situation are usually the ones who remain successful. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Trusted Doctors, a 70-provider pediatric practice with 13 locations throughout Northern Virginia, had not been using healow TeleVisits™ regularly.
A tale of a pandemic’s two curves
Medical pandemics come with two curves. There is a learning curve that challenges doctors, researchers, and governments to find the most effective responses. Meanwhile, there is an infection curve that must be moderated or flattened in order to get ahead of the crisis.
Long before the recent influx of telehealth usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians at First Choice Neurology had been using healow TeleVisits™ to bring quality care to their patients.
Recognizing the mind-body link
Medical providers have long understood there are close ties between physical and emotional health. At least among Western medical researchers, the first forays into the link between mind and body took place more than a century ago, as described in this article from the Minnesota State Medical Association.
For the last two years, providers at SG Pediatrics have been successfully using healow TeleVisits™ to see patients from home. So when the need for social distancing arose, they already had the tools in place to move all of their appointments online.
healow Telehealth Solutions offer providers more
As the number of cases of coronavirus continues to climb throughout the U.S. and the world, so too does the number of physicians and patients using telehealth solutions. For many healthcare visits — including primary and specialty care, follow-up visits, and quick check-in appointments — telehealth is proving to be an effective tool in promoting quality care during a time of crisis.