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ADVANCES IN TELEMEDICINE

Telemedicine – What’s the Benefit?

South Florida's Technology continues to and data management vided to a dermatologist. From that point,
create opportunities for equipment as well as the the dermatologist can send a treatment
Monthly providing innovative serv- training of the staff to use it. plan back to the patient’s primary physi-
Healthcare Newspaper ice while reaching a larger • The decrease in person- cian.
patient base. Telemedicine al interaction between doc- Remote monitoring allows doctors and
PO Box 812708 has created opportunities to tors and patients. other medical professionals to monitor a
Boca Raton, FL 33481-2708 overcome limitations • Increased risk of error patient remotely using technology. This
Phone: (561) 368-6950 caused by distance and when healthcare services method is typically used for managing
patients with mobility are provided without a pro- chronic diseases and other conditions such
issues. fessional present. as heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, and
Website: Individuals living in • Increase risk associated asthma. This type of monitoring can have
www.southfloridahospitalnews.com remote locations can with data security through a great cost benefit compared to traditional
receive care from doctors electronic storage and office-based treatment.
CHARLES FELIX without having to actually BY STEPHANIE transmission. Real-time medicine is useful for those
CAROL FELIX visit them. This technology MARESCA, CPA Other issues include the looking for an alternative to visiting the
Publishers also allows healthcare pro- potential for poor quality of doctor’s office. Real-time medicine allows
fessionals to share and discuss information transmitted records and less access to rele- for electronic consultations via telephone
NANCY LAMMIE as if they were all working in the same vant clinical information. There have also or video conferencing for the manage-
Editor location. been issues associated with claim reim- ment, diagnosis, counseling, and monitor-
Telemedicine can reduce costs and pro- bursements from insurers and government ing of patients.
JUDY GRAMM vide other benefits such as the following: programs for some telemedical practices. It In conclusion, the advantages of using
Editorial Manager & Webmaster • Mobile technology can reduce the is important to review the approved tele- telemedicine are numerous such as elec-
need for outpatient visits by monitoring health legislation for the state that you tronically linking a patient’s specialist to
JMC GRAPHICS patients remotely. practice in. their primary physicians, reducing costs
Art/Production • Remote prescription verification and There are three main categories of associated with outpatient visits, managing
lammienancy@aol.com drug administration oversight. telemedicine; store and forward, remote chronic conditions, and improving health-
412-835-5796
• Improve medical education by creating monitoring, and real-time interactive. care provided to remote areas. With this
a digital platform for experts in their fields Store and forward telemedicine refers to wide range of benefits and many more, the
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS to share and discuss best practices. the acquisition and storing of clinical use of telemedicine will continue to grow
Daniel Casciato • Eliminate the spread of illness within information that is sent to another site for and provide value as an alternative to tra-
Barbara Fallon
the office since patients would not come evaluation. This type of telemedicine is ditional patient visits.
Vanessa Orr in. useful in the areas of radiology, dermatol-
Lois Thomson As with most new opportunities, there ogy and retinal imaging. For example, in Stephanie Maresca, CPA, Senior Manager,
are a few disadvantages to be considered: dermatology, a skin problem can often be can be reached at (732) 743 4557 or
• The costs of the telecommunication diagnosed from a digital picture if it pro- smaresca@withum.com.
LOOK FOR OUR
NEXT ISSUE

IN AUGUST Telehealth Delivers A Win-Win
TO REACH US When the Physician is Onboard
FOR
ADVERTISING The biggest challenge implementing a vidual just discharged? Is he or she a sur- once a month in the office.
telehealth program isn’t patient compli- gical patient with multiple chronic con- Doctors who actively use telehealth
OR EDITORIAL
ance, it’s participation by the primary ditions? In those instances, a physician say the service benefits the patients, too,
Call (561) 368-6950 care physician. Doctors’ daily schedules should allow more time. because they have the flexibility in their
or e-mail are so filled with patient office visits that Second, training is essential. Doctors schedules and no longer need a medical
unless they set aside time for appoint- should dedicate time to becoming more assistant to take their blood pressure,
carol@southfloridahospitalnews.com
ments with patients who have telehealth familiar with the equipment. It's not dif- pulse and other vitals. This is a win-win
equipment in their homes, they don’t ficult to use, but as with all technology, situation, because the patient gains inde-
experience the full benefits that remote the more one uses it, the more efficient pendence and the primary care physician
SUBSCRIPTIONS health care can provide. one becomes. We encourage physicians realizes better use of time and receives
Some physicians are doing a phenome- to schedule sessions with us to set up the better information on the patient.
One Year $40 nal job using telehealth to supplant office equipment the way they like it and to
visits and monitor their patients. We call learn the best practices for conducting an About Accountable Care Options, LLC:
Two Years $60
them our pioneers, and they speak to interview. Once they embrace the tech- Accountable Care Options, LLC is a private-
Three Years $75 other doctors about utilizing telehealth, nology, they enjoy having live informa- ly owned and managed network of South
its advantages, and how to integrate it tion, because even when a patient rou- Florida primary care practices providing
into the workflow. For example, a pio- tinely comes into the office, he or she coordinated care as part of the Medicare
To subscribe,
neer might have one day of the week will not have vital sign and glucose read- Next Generation ACO Program. The
call (561) 368-6950 where the office closes at noon. The ings for every day at home. Accountable Care Organization, or ACO,
or subscribe online at physician allocates part or all of that Using telehealth data, a doctor can see takes all financial risk in the program, while
afternoon for telehealth assessments. that a patient has had high blood pres- member physicians receive their normal
southfloridahospitalnews.com.
____________ Physicians quickly learn to give them- sure over the last three days or that Medicare payments. The network and
selves a bit more flexibility because these today’s reading may be the first sign of a physicians share in bonuses paid by
appointments can take from 15 minutes problem. With daily monitoring, the Medicare for reaching quality care and
All rights reserved. Reproduction to an hour. The appointment length physician can ask more intricate ques- savings goals. For more information, visit
in whole or part without written
permission prohibited. Copyright © 2018. depends on the questions they ask and tions and thus get to know the patient www.aco-fl.com or call 561-200-0325.
the patient’s circumstances: Was the indi- much better versus seeing the individual

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14 July 2018 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News