Technology is playing a key role in helping hospitals fight COVID-19. From telemedicine programs to Electronic Health Records (EHRs), technology is changing how healthcare services are delivered and patients are assessed and monitored. The following are some of the ways technologies have become partners in the healthcare system to ensure COVID-19 patients get the care they need.
Telemedicine Keeping Hospital Beds Free for the Sickest
People are told to see their family doctor first before going to the Emergency Room when they have COVID-19 symptoms. Yet the last thing any physician wants is a virus-infected patient sitting in the waiting room.
You may think of telemedicine as useful mostly for minor illnesses, but it has also helped many hospitals keep their beds available for the sickest people or the people with the highest risk of experiencing severe symptoms due to COVID-19.
Dr. Lee Schwamm, contributing to Harvard Health Publishing for the Harvard Medical School on the topic of telemedicine, says that it is known that most people who get infected with the COVID-19 virus will not get seriously ill. The people who are at greatest risk are over 60 years old and have a comprised immune system or underlying health condition. Not gathering people together in a small waiting room makes sense.
The general practitioner can meet with a patient online, ask screening questions, listen to coughing and use the information to make a determination about the patient’s next step. He or she can determine whether the patient should stay home with minor symptoms and follow treatment guidelines or go to a hospital.
In-Hospital Videoconferencing Enables In-Hospital Consultation
The University Medical Center New Orleans is using a video-equipped room for patients who are likely infected with the COVID-19 virus. The physicians use a HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing platform while a nurse in personal protective equipment (PPE) takes vital signs and draws blood.
Based on the results the patient is either admitted to the hospital or sent home. Video conferencing is used to monitor patients in intensive care units, enable multi-physician consultations and simplify consultations with the General Practitioner and specialists regularly providing care.
Electronic Health Records Make Patient Information Accessible
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are becoming important medical software tools for hospitals dealing with an influx of COVID-19 patients. When hospitals are flooded with patients, it is important for healthcare officials to have access to the patient’s medical history. This is especially true for patients who have chronic diseases like diabetes or other medical conditions that require special treatment.
Electronic Health Records create a central source of patient information that can be used to improve response. You can use EHRs to assist with screening patients, monitoring and assessing symptoms and tracking lab results. Since some programs enable EHRs that are accessible on mobile devices, the digital medical records are also useful for patient care delivered outside the hospital, like in the temporary medical tents or in rural areas.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Screens Patients and Predicts Symptoms
Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being used in the healthcare system, and now AI is also being used in the COVID-19 battle. The Wall Street Journal article, “Hospitals Tap AI to Help Manage Coronavirus Outbreak,” (March 20, 1920) reported on the deployment of AI technologies when screening patients. At Tampa General, an AI system performs facial scans in order to identify patients with fever.
Some hospitals are using AI technologies to predict which COVID-19 patients are more likely to develop complications like respiratory failure.
Wearables Enable Remote Monitoring
After the FDA issued guidance on the use of remote patient monitoring devices during the COVID-19 outbreak, hospitals began using wearables for remote patient monitoring. The wearables rely on smartphones and software to track and report patient statistics like blood pressure, temperature, breathing rate, and lung and heart functioning.
Patients can stay home, freeing up hospital beds, while still being monitored.
Technologies Touching Every Aspect of Healthcare
The five technologies mentioned are certainly not all of the tools used today in physician offices and hospitals. A medical billing software company such as Qualifacts can now offer sophisticated medical billing software that keeps critical revenues flowing, dashboards producing predictive analytics, document managers that also collect and analyze data and so much more. The COVID-19 virus crisis has served as an impetus for the rapid adoption of technologies from medical practices to hospitals, benefitting patients and health professionals alike. That being said, rest assured that there are a few medical innovations and clinical solutions that have created a bit of buzz as of late.
