Joshua Young, VP of Interactive Patient Care and Smart Rooms

As healthcare continues to evolve, the integration of telehealth in the inpatient setting has emerged as a pivotal development that is here to stay. Telehealth is revolutionizing the way we deliver care, making it more efficient, accessible, and patient-centered.

In addition to expanded patient access to routine and specialty care, telehealth is improving patient satisfaction and outcomes. According to the American Hospital Association, more than half of U.S. hospitals now connect with patients and consulting practitioners through the use of video and other technology.

Every Second Counts: The Case for Increased Use of Inpatient Video Technology

While many telehealth solutions focus on connecting people outside of the clinical setting with providers, telehealth (especially video conferencing technologies) in the inpatient setting has equally powerful benefits. Let’s consider three key time-saving features of video conferencing within the walls of the hospital:

• Saves Nursing Time: Video communications enable efficient nurse rounding, saving care teams valuable time. Nurses in a virtual nursing or care unit can conduct virtual check-ins, reducing the need for physical visits, which can be time-consuming and disruptive for patients.
• Extends Available Specialists in Network: Using video communications allows specialists to reach more patients, faster and cheaper. Instead of spending time and money commuting between hospital wings or campuses, specialists can reach the patient immediately in the hospital room for consultation, saving countless hours. Video improves the delivery of treatment by allowing doctors at multiple locations to make clinical diagnoses and consult with patients.
• Increases Patient Monitoring Capabilities: Video conferencing facilitates monitoring, including resource-intensive 24-hour monitoring and observation. With the right solution in place, in-room monitoring can be done one-to-many, helping reduce staff burden. Video allows routine or continuous oversight without constant physical presence, which is much less invasive to the patient.

Video Conferencing Impact on Patient Experience

In addition to saving time for clinicians, video communications in the inpatient setting have demonstrated positive outcomes on patient well-being, including: 

• Patient and Family Education: Telehealth is an excellent tool for educating patients and their families. Healthcare providers can use video calls to explain diagnoses, treatment plans, and discharge instructions. This ensures that patients and their families fully understand the care process, which can improve adherence to treatment and reduce readmission rates. 
• Decreasing Feelings of Isolation: Video conferencing helps decrease patients’ feelings of isolation by enabling friends and family to call in. Social workers, nurses, doctors, caregivers, and family members can connect to a patient through a video call to check-in and monitor their progress. These approaches help reduce patient anxiety levels and provide better overall care.
• Access to Qualified Healthcare Interpreters: Video technology can provide on-demand, face-to-face access to qualified healthcare interpreters right in the patient’s room. Bridging the communication gap allows patients to fully understand their health conditions and treatment plans. This is particularly important during critical medical consultations where miscommunication can have serious consequences.

What’s Next: How Does AI Fit Into Inpatient Telehealth?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various sectors, and healthcare is no exception.  As AI becomes more accepted and commonplace in hospitals, let’s look at just three ways in which it will help to revolutionize telehealth in the inpatient setting. 

• Monitoring and Machine Learning: Virtual monitoring technology, combined with machine learning, is being used to monitor patients through video feeds. AI algorithms analyze the footage to detect abnormal movements or behaviors that may precede a fall, such as unsteady walking or difficulty standing. This real-time analysis can trigger alerts, allowing for immediate assistance.
• Video Call Analysis, Summaries and Documentation: Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology can analyze patient interactions during telehealth consultations to identify subtle cues or statements indicating increased risks. For example, if a patient mentions having difficulty walking or feeling dizzy, AI can flag these concerns for further evaluation by a healthcare provider.  NLP can also be used to auto-transcribe video calls, help summarize them, and document critical data back into the EMR. 
• Enhanced Video Consultations: AI can enhance telehealth consultations by providing real-time data analysis and decision support to clinicians during virtual visits.

Get Well’s Video Conferencing Solutions

Get Well collaborates with top telehealth vendors to connect patients to family and providers through their hospital room. This approach ensures the efficient use of hardware, such as multi-purpose video cameras, TVs, and tablets. 

Get Well’s Point of Care Engagement solution leverages technology to increase clinical efficiency. By integrating video conferencing capabilities, hospitals can streamline their approach to patient care, reducing the burden on staff and improving patient outcomes. This solution allows for seamless integration into existing hospital workflows, ensuring that patients receive the best possible care.

Check out our Point of Care Engagement solution to see how you can deliver an exceptional inpatient experience that transcends linguistic barriers or get in touch with us to see it in action.

Sources:

American Hospital Association. “Telehealth: Transforming How Care Is Delivered.” AHA. https://www.aha.org/telehealth