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Remember, if you can, to go back to the old world of March 2020: many of us were new to video conferencing or only used it occasionally. Almost instantly, however, our schedules filled with virtual business meetings, virtual exercise classes, and virtual get-togethers. Today, nearly a year after the onset of COVID-19-induced social distancing, video conferencing has become woven into the fabric of our daily lives.
It may have taken a pandemic to convert Americans to the convenience of video conferencing, but now we’re all there. The same can be said of telehealth. After years in which the promise of telemedicine was hampered by a widespread lack of adoption in the United States, the coronavirus has given Americans what even the smartest telemedicine marketers couldn’t: a compelling reason to shift some types of care from person to virtual, and according to a Rally Health survey focused on preventive care, one in three Americans plans to continue scheduling telemedicine appointments when possible, even after COVID- 19 is no longer a problem.
Hurry up and wait
Over the past decade, telehealth – the umbrella term used to describe all digitally delivered medical services and health education – has grown into a $ 45.5 billion industry, according to data from Global Market Insights. Yet many patients weren’t sure how much they would be charged for a virtual visit or whether it would be covered by insurance; they didn’t know how to register; and they wanted to maintain their relationship with their regular doctor, who probably didn’t offer virtual services.
That all changed in March, when many doctors urged patients with elective needs to postpone in-person care as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. In 2020, virtual tours were on track to hit 1 billion, according to Forrester analysts. Additionally, 84% of patients seeking virtual care in March of last year were doing so for the first time, according to a report from IDC.
The sudden efforts to digitize health care delivery were supported by state and federal authorities who quickly relaxed restrictions on telehealth licensing and by changes to Medicare and Medicaid which began reimbursing providers for a much wider range of telehealth services. The CDC and WHO, meanwhile, have started advocating for telemedicine, while the American Medical Association has released new guidelines to help providers keep up to date.
A study by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine highlights the degree to which traditional healthcare providers have extended their reach through virtual tours. Between the beginning of March and mid-April of last year, researchers found that urgent care virtual visits to NYU Langone Health increased by 683%, while elective virtual visits increased by 4,345%. previously inconceivable. OptumCare has rapidly grown from 1,000 providers using telemedicine before the pandemic to more than 14,000 today. At a time when clinicians risked losing contact with quarantined patients, it became clear that telemedicine offered a powerful new way to connect.
A case study: diabetes
Just as telehealth has gained momentum, early research into COVID-19 has also revealed the virus’s disproportionate impact on high-risk populations, including those suffering from obesity or diabetes. Given the increased risk of diabetics and their established success with other digital health interventions, such as continuous glucose monitors, the pandemic offers a unique opportunity to put digital education, prevention and maintenance tools at the center. management of diabetes.
The grim statistics show why diabetics need robust digital health support. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other national health centers and hospitals, for example, have shown that the risk of a fatal outcome from COVID-19 is up to 50% higher in patients. diabetics than in those who do not have diabetes. In addition, there are now 34 million adults with diabetes in the United States, representing 13% of the population. More than 7 million of them meet the clinical definition of diabetes, but don’t realize they have the disease, according to the CDC. Even more shocking: 88 million Americans – almost 1 in 3 – have prediabetes, a disease that puts people at a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as stroke and heart disease . And the vast majority of prediabetics – 90% – don’t realize they have it. The fact that so many Americans with diabetes and prediabetes are unaware of their condition makes proactive prevention and lifestyle adjustments all the more imperative.
There’s the good news: Just as Americans embraced Zoom exercise classes and virtual doctor visits, so too have they flocked to tech tools to take control of their weight, nutrition, and level. activity, all of which are essential in preventing diabetes. Now that many people are embracing new health technologies, we have the perfect opportunity to implement large-scale digital diabetes prevention initiatives and improve our chances of tackling this health crisis.
Digital toolbox
Even before we retired home, Americans were increasingly comfortable with digital tools, from portable activity monitors to online planning apps. But we know that the best virtual health services combine the power of permanent automated technology with the warmth and encouragement that only a real person can offer.
Decades of research have shown us that small, specific, easy-to-perform actions create the best chance for long-term habit formation – and social support keeps us going as we create new patterns. From virtual coaching on weight loss and smoking cessation to video appointments with mental health counselors, our connected world can now offer immediate access to live professionals who help us to reassure ourselves, to focus. and to motivate us as we work to adapt to a new lifestyle controlling the factors under our control; and take the next step towards building healthy habits. The sudden onset of a global pandemic and social distancing have served to reinforce these truths and prove that virtual health not only works but works at scale.
After months of getting used to this new normal and relying on virtual connections to improve our health, we’re not about to give up on them. Now that millions of Americans have taken their first telehealth visit – and millions more have used online and mobile health tools to create new grounding routines – we’ve finally realized just how continuous digital health care can be beneficial even as we look to the future. a post-pandemic world.
The new new standard
We have reached a critical inflection point for the prevention and management of diabetes: we must maintain the momentum that telemedicine and digital health have gained over the past year by continuing to make virtual services easily accessible. For this to happen, the government will need to extend its previous flexibility, which paved the way for reimbursement, and push providers to maintain a telehealth presence beyond the pandemic. We also need to continue to do better for people with chronic health conditions by creating new ways to communicate with professionals and create lasting lifestyle changes.
Fortunately, telemedicine is well advanced in its rise. The industry is expected to nearly quadruple to over $ 175 billion by 2026, according to Global Market Insights. The American Telemedicine Association predicts that 50% of health care services in the United States will be provided virtually by 2030.
“Now that patients and health care providers are experiencing telehealth, there will be no turning back,” Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of ATA, recently told ABC News. “And as we emerge from this health crisis, telehealth will be a pillar of our system and will be accepted for what it is – not telehealth, but health.
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