Healthcare technology has evolved significantly with time to make inpatient care increasingly convenient. Starting as a simple telephone communication between patients and doctors, telehealth has assumed massive proportions with time. It has allowed patients to receive personalized medical care without adding a burden on the shoulders of the already busy hospital staff.
Virtual hospital care solutions combine the on-premise facilities of hospitals and the prowess of modern technology. They enhance patient outcomes, streamline workflows, and ensure seamless coordination between different departments within a hospital. In short, telehealth in in patient settings aims at making hospitals a little less chaotic.
Considering the steady rise of digitization, it is safe to say that virtual hospital care will only get bigger and more advanced in the years to come. Let us understand the influence of virtual hospital care by addressing its benefits in inpatient settings first.
Virtual nurses reduce the burden off the shoulders of the nursing staff at a hospital. Instead of working on-premise, they work remotely and stay connected with patients through audio/video calls. Virtual nurses also keep doctors and other on-premise hospital staff regarding every patient’s health. By working with these professionals, hospitals can reduce the clutter on their premises and free their staff members from handling multiple tasks simultaneously.
Virtual hospital care innovations ensure continuous patient assessments, tracking all their touchpoints until they recover. The frequency of these assessments is higher than that of the on-premise checks. Modern telehealth solutions allow healthcare professionals to stay connected with patients throughout their recovery journeys.
Must Read: Surgical Site Infections: Prevention Strategies And Treatment Options
In some cases, patients may be advised to see specialists after receiving inpatient care at a hospital. However, not all hospitals have immediate access to these professionals. Hospitals in rural areas often ask patients to travel long distances to see specialists.
Telemedicine solutions for inpatient care allow patients to have quick access to specialist doctors while being admitted to a hospital. This ensures timely intervention and prevents patients from waiting for specialty care providers for too long (especially during serious matters). Such solutions also facilitate seamless continuity as the patient seeks help from different professionals. For example, if you are admitted to a hospital in Mumbai and need specialty care from an expert, virtual consultations before physical examinations ensure convenient hospital continuity care in Mumbai.
Hospitals can ensure long-term patient engagement by staying connected with them virtually. Virtual telehealth solutions can do what on-premise doctors and nursing staff cannot – stay with the patients for extended hours. Hospitals can also send regular digital reports, educational content related to the patient’s health, and fun quizzes to engage them while they recover. Seamless engagement adds to a patient’s overall experience with a hospital, leading to a relationship of trust.
Implementing virtual hospital care solutions is a cost-effective approach as it allows hospitals to save more by making the most of telehealth. These solutions let you reduce the length of hospital stays, maximize bed capacities, and increase the productivity of your nursing staff. An ideal blend of on-premise and virtual inpatient care makes for a complete package a healthcare institution offers.
Let us now have a look at some of the most important virtual hospital care innovations in inpatient settings:
Remote patient monitoring allows hospitals to track their patients’ vitals without involving the nursing staff. Modern hospital equipment is capable of taking a patient’s blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart rate, and other vitals at regular intervals (or continuously if the complications are serious) for holistic examination. Hospitals also use software tools that keep the doctors updated about these vitals, helping them make assessments without visiting their patients in person.
Telehealth has also influenced how healthcare professionals monitor patients admitted to the ICU. Thanks to virtual hospital care innovations, doctors and their nursing staff can monitor their patients remotely, tracking their vitals and providing their guidance to the ICU staff virtually. This improves multidisciplinary coordination and improved ICU workflow.
Instead of visiting every patient at their bedside, virtual rounding allows doctors to consult their patients and/or the nursing staff tending to them through seamless video calls. Having access to every patient’s health records and real-time vitals makes virtual rounding even more effective. If the doctor feels that a patient needs more help, they can always visit them in person and offer the care they need.
Post-surgical rehabilitation plays an important role in a patient’s recovery. If a patient is required to stay at the hospital after surgery, tele-rehabilitation allows healthcare professionals to connect with them virtually. Virtual rehabilitation prevents experts like physical therapists from visiting every patient on-premise. Live video conferences or personalized recorded sessions help patients recover conveniently before they are discharged.
Must Read: Human Factors In ICU Design: Providing A Healing Environment To Patients And Their Families
Virtual hospital care innovations are incomplete without modern communication tools. From customized hospital applications to dedicated patient portals, a patient can have access to multiple platforms to stay informed. These portals allow healthcare professionals to share valuable information with their patients while they recover at the hospital. Moreover, a centralized portal contains all the details about a patient, making assessments easier for doctors and their nursing staff. Such a platform also acts as a medium for quick and secure communication between a doctor and a patient.
If you are looking for seamless continuity of virtual hospital care, Docville helps you receive it from the comfort of your home. Our team of general physicians and qualified nursing staff offers personalized home-based medical care to patients. Whether you need home nursing services or virtual rehabilitation after surgery, Docville ensures that you recover without leaving your house. Moreover, our doctor on call services give you access to healthcare experts with a few simple clicks. With Docville, you and your loved ones can receive comprehensive healthcare services (including home-based ICU) in the most convenient ways possible.
A New Era in Patient-Centered Care: The Intensive Care Unit at Home
October 01, 2024
