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essays on the disadvantages of telemedicine
advantages and disadvantages of telehealth
essays on the disadvantages of telemedicine
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Economic Impact
The economic impact of telehealth is a critical factor to examine when looking at the feasibility of incorporating such technologies into practice. Exploration of economics is also essential as it has been posited that telehealth has the potential to deliver care to individuals that is cost saving in nature (Wade, Karnon, Elshaug, & Hiller, 2010). Furthermore, the estimated expenditure on telehealth services and technology is expected to reach into the billions of dollars (Berger, 2010). However, there are myriad individual elements that may be considered in the broad subject of economics, which complicates determining the economic impact in a parsimonious way (Bergmo, 2009; Wade, et al., 2010).
Providers are faced with having to weigh the expense of investing in telehealth technologies with the ability to generate enough revenue to cover these costs. This is often difficult as expenses in the literature can cover those directly linked with the delivery of care (healthcare costs) and those that are not directly related to providing care (non-heath care costs) (Bergmo, 2009). Some of the healthcare costs a practitioner must consider are items such as computers, video cameras, microphones, modems, routers, software and other components such as specialized stethoscopes and imaging equipment needed to assess an individual patient. The cost of these items can add up quickly. As one study estimates, the capital expenditure for the implementation of telehealth video conferencing can reach as much as $80,000. The cost of transmitting data in order to deliver these services can also reach $800-$2000 per month in spoke and hub type telehealth systems (Gamble, Savage, & Icenogle, 2004). These costs incur even more ...
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...ward understanding the cost benefit of telemedicine applications. Hospital Topics: Research and Perspectives on Healthcare
Palmas, W., Shea, S., Starren, J., Teresi, J. A., Ganz, M. L., Burton, T. M., et al. (2010). Medicare payments, health care service use, and telemedicine implementation costs in a randomized trial comparing telemedicine case management with usual care in medically underserved participants with diabetes mellitus (IDEATel). Journal of the American Informatics Association, 17, 196-202.
Shea, S. (2007). The Informatics for Diabetes and Education Telemedicine (IDEATel) Project. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 118, 289-304.
Wade, V. A., Karnon, J. Elshaug, A., & Hiller, J. E. (2010). A systematic review of economic analyses of telehealth services using real time video communication. BMC Health Service Research,
Moffatt, J. and Eley, D. (2010). The reported benefits of telehealth for rural Australians. Australian Health Review. 34. 276-281.
Prinz, L., Cramer, M. & Englund, A. (2008). Telehealth: A policy analysis for quality, impact on
The Benefits of Telehealth - Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center. (2016). Nrtrc.org. Retrieved 2 August 2016, from https://www.nrtrc.org/telehealth-topic-20
We live in the era of technology and telehealth is becoming a part of our lives. According to Guido (2014), telehealth Is a removal of time and distance barriers for the delivery of health care services and related health care activities. Internet and other communication technologies are the means for health care professionals to practice across state lines.
Telemedicine accounted for revenue of $17,878.7 million in 2015, the causes for this market growing at such a phenomenal rate is due to the number of homes using smart phones and the increasing geriatric population.
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 established the Hospital VBP Program. The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program is a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiative that rewards acute-care hospitals with incentive payments for the quality of care they provide to Medicare beneficiaries. A few of the value based purchasing provisions such as pay for performance, accountable care organizations, bundle payments and patient-centered medical homes are designed to improve care quality and outcomes while reducing the cost (cms.gov). Within the iron triangle, the goal of VBP is to improve quality and cost, but it should also help towards providing more access to care. If patients are not able to access the care when they need it then quality is insignificant. One key component of VBP is measuring and reporting comparative performance of providers - allowing patients to select services and providers of high value. Based on provider’s performances, VBP programs pay each differentially, which encourages providers to emphasis more on outcome and care rather than capacity of work. And so, providers cut out unnecessary work and used their resources more efficiently to lower their overall care costs. VBP programs can also inspire providers to advance their work efficiency by implementing and integrating technology into their care. With assistance of the right technology providers can implement telehealth to save time and cost in order to be able to focus on more patients. Access to most patients is possible as long as costs of care are affordable. By adopting VBP programs, they will be able to keep the cost affordable by implementing cost cutting strategies without compromising quality care for
Telehealth is not a new concept. It was first anticipated in 1924 as a fantasy in a Radio News Magazine. Today it is a reality. Even more, implementation of telehealth is becoming a necessity due to increasing aging population and high healthcare costs. What is telehealth? On a federal level, telehealth is defined as “the use of technology to deliver health care, health information or health education at a distance.”
I think Telehealth has made healthcare convenient and accessible to both medical physicians and patients. Telehealth allows medical physicians to check in on their patients regularly, and find out how they are coping with new treatment plans that had been previously prescribed. Patients are able to receive medical advice about their symptoms in the comfort of their own home and need not cue and wait long hours in the hospital waiting rooms. For example, physicians can show patients how to perform certain movements, such as stretches, to alleviate pain through the face-to-face option of videoconferencing. This especially benefits patients who are not so mobile and cannot be physically present at the clinic, overseas patients or those who feel uncomfortable being in public. In addition, patients with rare or severe conditions have the option of obtaining a second opinion from specialists, who work in another country, about treatment plans. Thirdly, patients who would only like to clarify some doubts would be able to email the their primary physician directly instead of making an appointment. Hence, Telehealth allows patients to consult their medical physician from any location via videoconferencing applications like Skype or through email thus making healthcare very convenient and accessible.
reimbursement determinations. As a result, the camaraderie among physicians has developed into a more aggressive approach to impede competition (Shi & Singh, 2012). Little information is shared with patients in regards to procedures or disease control. The subjects are forced to rely on the internet for enlightenment on the scope of their illnesses (Shi & Singh, 2012). Furthermore, the U.S. health care system fails to provide adequate knowledge on billing strategies for operations and other medical practices. The cost in a free system is based on supply and demand and is known in advance of hospital admission (Shi & Singh, 2012). The need for new technology is another characteristic that is of interest when considering the health care system. Technology is often v...
M. S. Marcolino, J. X. Maia, M. B. M. Alkmim, E. Boersma, and A. L. Ribeiro, “Telemedicine Application in the Care of Diabetes Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” PLoS One, vol. 8, no. 11, p. e79246, Nov. 2013.
In this article the author compared the changes observed with the use of Teletracking system for a duration of three years starting from 2013 in two different multispeciality chain of hospitals in Florida, the first being Health First, which is a fully integrated health system in central Florida with 900 beds distributed across four hospitals. Its flagship hospital is Homes Regional
Health care is one of the most lucrative businesses in the United States. It is also one of the areas where modern technology has had the most impact. Health care companies make huge investments in technology each year. To justify these investments, it is important to make sure that the monies spent result in highly efficient and effective policies, improve patient safety, and increases the quality and value of health care services.
Rinde, E., & Balteskard, L. (2002). Is there a future for telemedicine?. Lancet, 359(9322), 1957.
In this framework, we introduced 6 barriers for implementing telemedicine and then by using factor analysis, we analyzed these factors and their indices. According to research findings, and according to figure 3, we can see that the barriers of implementing telemedicine with respect to their importance are as below:
...to learn how to use the program and devices. Especially for elderly, it may take longer time for them to learn as they may not know how to use computer. Telehealth helps to save money only in a long run but not for short term. The devices are expensive, it is not worth it if you are going to use it for a short period of time. Telehealth may cause the doctor to have inappropriate diagnoses, as Telehealth only allows doctors to visually looking at the patient.