Virtual Healthcare Is the Future - If Organizations Can Clear These Hurdles

Covid-19 forced healthcare organizations to make a huge leap forward in their digital transformation roadmaps. Although many companies had plans on the books to advance telemedicine, the crisis revealed that virtual care is not only possible but in many cases is also preferred by patients. Virtual care also offers an opportunity to enhance patient experience, improve population health, reduce costs and improve the work life of health care providers the quadruple aim of healthcare.

“To improve patient outcomes, we have to involve a patient’s family and significant others in their care, because it must extend beyond the four walls of the hospital,” says Dr. Reetu Singh, senior medical director, clinical documentation integrity at AdventHealth. “With virtual care, you are providing that care continuum, and therefore providing better outcomes. And that’s the future – this is what patients want. Our future is technology. We have to be at the forefront and provide care where our patients are; we need to go to patients instead of patients coming to us.”

Many healthcare organizations are working on advancing virtual care options. That said, the path to digital healthcare transformation is bumpy – more so than for other sectors. Healthcare was already lagging in adopting virtual models, and the realities of patient care, reimbursement and privacy concerns add significant complexity.