Telehealth is the collaboration of healthcare professionals in two-way communication (1). Telehealth has productive uses in counseling and communication with patients, remote monitoring, and behavioral psychotherapy support (2). Both clinicians and patients have expanded their telehealth use that is not limited to at-home management of chronic illnesses, diet monitoring, medication adherence, or health risk assessment (3).
Telehealth consultations have evident improvements in patient’s outcomes especially in psychiatry, wound management, and chronic illnesses. As reported by the study, fewer amputations and better healing of wounds resulted after telehealth interventions (4).
In the present situation of the pandemic when most of the outpatient clinics and departments were closed, Telehealth made it possible to remote screen and manage the COVID-19 affected patients. Patients in the early stages received treatment at home, saving their time and cost for traveling, and decreasing the exposure of other patients and healthcare workers to the COVID-19 affected patients. Similarly, those patients with chronic illness who were at high risk of getting infected by the COVID-19 took advantage of the telehealth, and their treatment continued at home without any risk (5).
TotalCare has multiple features which are very easy to use and the app and can be accessed from any place on any mobile device or web. Patients can find the clinicians in the state selected by them. Patients can also add a family member to the call. Family members from a different state can join the call very easily without any travel. Clinicians can also add consultants to the call. All of this is possible with TotalCare and can be done from the comfort of your home or work.
References
1. Seehusen DA, Azrak A. The Effectiveness of Outpatient Telehealth Consultations. AFP. 2019 Nov 1;100(9):575–7.
2. Totten AM, Womack DM, Eden KB, McDonagh MS, Griffin JC, Grusing S, et al. Telehealth: Mapping the Evidence for Patient Outcomes From Systematic Reviews [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2016 [cited 2021 Jan 5]. (AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Technical Briefs). Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK379320/
3. Tuckson RV, Edmunds M, Hodgkins ML. Telehealth. New England Journal of Medicine. 2017 Oct 19;377(16):1585–92.
4. Totten AM, Hansen RN, Wagner J, Stillman L, Ivlev I, Davis-O’Reilly C, et al. Telehealth for Acute and Chronic Care Consultations [Internet]. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2019 Apr [cited 2021 Jan 4]. Available from: https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/topics/telehealth-acute-chronic/research
5. Koonin LM, Hoots B, Tsang CA, Leroy Z, Farris K, Jolly B, et al. Trends in the Use of Telehealth During the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January–March 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020 Oct 30;69(43):1595–9.