Problem:
Can you help me with a thoughtful response to the classmate's discussion below, including a question I could ask in the reply?? Your help would be greatly appreciated!
What are the opportunities for using telehealth/telemedicine?
Through a phone conversation or video chat, telehealth/telemedicine implementation connects patients and their clinician in a fantastic way. The capacity to follow up with patients without having to make in-person office visits is one advantage of employing telehealth. Having a virtual visit with patients who are far from doctor's offices or hospitals can also be very beneficial. Telehealth offers access to care that may be difficult for some patients to reach and has the potential to reduce needless ED visits and patient travel time (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021).
In the hospital where I work, telehealth and telemedicine are used nightly. Because of the rural location of the hospital where I work, hospitalists are not physically present from 1900 to 0700. The hospitalists who cover medicine and surgery during the day also visit patients in the clinic. They are not forced to answer calls after hours or work the night shift. We use a "telehospitalist" to consult with patients over an iPad or TV system. The healthcare professional can do an evaluation remotely and decide if the patient is suitable for admission to our medical/surgical floor or whether a transfer to a larger hospital is necessary. The system is quite useful, in my opinion.