Virtual Healthcare Beyond The Pandemic

The pandemic has irreversibly changed the healthcare industry. Patients are now increasingly drawn towards convenience in healthcare services. They are also rapidly evolving as ‘digital first’ consumers, but can the healthcare industry keep up with their pace? Let’s discuss the latest advancement in healthcare, the ‘virtual’ healthcare.

What does ‘Virtual’ healthcare mean?

In simple terms, it stands for all the ways in which healthcare workers and their patients communicate remotely. ‘Convenience’ and ‘easy access’ are the keywords when it comes to virtual healthcare. To help you understand this better, we’ve listed a few points below.

Goodbye Waiting Rooms

Why would people want to visit hospitals and risk getting infected when they can easily consult online? If you’re terribly ill, sitting in the waiting room is probably the last thing that you want to do. Virtual healthcare has made it easy to book tele/video consultations with expert doctors from the convenience of their homes. People who live in remote locations or people with stressful jobs who can’t take time off from work can also receive expert medical advice without any compromise. In case you are not ready to offer these services yet, you need to start thinking if you are really ready to lose your patients.

Did You Know
During the first quarter of 2020, the number of telehealth appointments increased by 50% (Source)

Monitoring from a distance

The healthcare system has advanced to the level where medical information can be transferred from one corner of the world to another instantly. This means that your hospital is just not confined to four walls anymore. You can reach a wide range of global audiences. Critical patient details such as weight, blood pressure, vital signs, oxygen rate etc can be shared by the patient with their doctor electronically. This way you can track your patient’s vitals without them actually being in the hospital. For example, digital blood pressure monitors allow patients to share their blood pressure levels with their physicians. And in situations where there is not enough time to wait until the patient reaches the hospital, tele/video consultations can help save lives of the people.

Easy on the pocket

With digital healthcare, you get to save a few extra pennies. By offering tele/ video consultation appointments, healthcare workers can increase their productivity and consult more patients since the hindrance of time and place is removed. Hospitals in general have a limited patient capacity due to space constraints. With virtual healthcare, you don’t have to turn away patients once the limit has been exceeded since the patient doesn’t require a bed or to be physically present. This way you save your resources as well and put them to better use as well.

Did You Know
74% of millennials prefer virtual doctor appointments than in-person appointments (Source)

No compromise on quality of care

For patients managing chronic health conditions, hospitals are that one place that they dread to visit. In such conditions, how can you still manage to treat them? Virtual healthcare acts as a saviour for their everyday medical requirements. By providing them with online therapy, counselling, etc and also having their vitals checked without having to step out, you can still treat them.

The requirement of social distancing norms to be held in place is changing the way in which hospitals manage their incoming patients. Given the situation, adopting virtual healthcare is the best way to ensure that your hospital stays in business. At HOD, we create unique strategies tailored for your business growth. Click here to know more about what we can do for your business.

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