Why is RPM Important Now More Than Ever
Remote healthcare ‘will be here to stay’ after COVID-19, says Dr. Eric Topol
In the remote healthcare space, the COVID-19 has been a catalyst in the use of technology. Although not a single serving solution to the pandemic, according to Eric Topol MD, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, Calif. it will be one of the lasting consequences, he feels.
Writing in a March 31 op-ed for the Economist, Dr.Topol noted that despite its steady rise in use among healthcare providers for years, telemedicine has yet to gain the acceptability as a mainstream model of patient interaction, since it doesn’t have the traditional element of the physical visit kind of a ‘hands-on-care’.
Regulatory and commercial hurdles, besides the unavailability of a secure digital infrastructure to support patient and physician interactions have been impeding the growth of the technology.
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has forced a lockdown on globally communities, and the healthcare industry has responded swiftly delivering care through remote healthcare and telemedicine writes Dr.Topol. The swiftness through which video visits are possible between patients and clinicians has helped limit the spread of the virus, according to Dr. Topol, both patients and physicians stand protected, not being exposed to each other through in-person visits.
Public health systems have been working overtime during the pandemic so that remote healthcare becomes easier to access. With a cover for telemedicine visits available to Medicare patients, announced by CMS in March, several states have issued guidelines for insurers to follow the same.
At-home coronavirus kits are being delivered to residents in Seattle through Amazon Care. The University of Washington Medicine and Seattle Children’s Hospital have both partnered with Amazon for offering the service to the residents.
Dr.Topol writes in the op-ed that social and medical practices happening in response to COVID-19 shall continue even after the pandemic subsides. Further elaborating, he writes that this will certainly apply to all elective, routine and out-patient visits. The same practice will likely be followed for any infectious diseases, including the seasonal flu. Practices will not want the risk of exposure to other patients or their family members while sitting in the waiting rooms, neither risk the healthcare workers from being infected. He advocated the view that telemedicine will play the role of first consultation, similar to the house-call of yore.
Highlighting several uses of technology that can support telemedicine and remote examinations, Dr.Topol noted that “smart thermometers” to detect flu outbreaks, and wearable devices to measure heart rates and sensors to continuously capture coughs, breathing rate, and body temperature were amongst some of the new devices available for remote patient care.
With the advancement in telemedicine and remote monitoring technology, Dr. Topol observed that remote healthcare will never replace in-person care, but will continue to be a useful asset and a frontline defense system in healthcare during future pandemics, he asserted.
