5 Ways Telemedicine Reduces Costs
A huge 70% of healthcare expenses in India are done by out-of-pocket expenditure by the individual. Because of this, approximately 7% of the population is pushed below the poverty line every year.
Household health expenditures comprise out-of-pocket expenditures (95%) and insurance (5%). Out of pocket expenditures, which are the payments given directly by individuals at the point of services that are not covered under any financial protection scheme, are dominant.
Telemedicine has the capability to lessen the per capita cost of care and boost the quality of care across the board. Interest in enforcing telemedicine solutions in clinics, hospitals, and large healthcare settings is at an all-time high.
Telemedicine and Mediwy have the capacity to enable the healthcare system to meet the aim of simultaneously increasing the quality of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of care.
1.Decreased burden on the healthcare system
The usage of technology such as remote patient monitoring (RPM) permits patients to recover from home, prevents exposure to tension and anxiety, and decreases the cost of the hospital environment. Considering the high cost of delivering inpatient services, moving some kinds of observation to an outpatient basis makes sense economically. This considerably decreases the costs borne by the healthcare system.
2.Decreased cost of complications
The usage of telemedicine enhances patient outcomes in patients suffering from chronic disease. One of the most common chronic conditions is chronic heart failure. Patients with chronic heart failure face multiple issues that need constant monitoring. RPM enables this by delivering blood pressure, weight, implantable technology (pacemaker/defibrillator) or O2 saturation data via integration with a telemedicine program. Having this data extends the potential for timely identification and diagnosis of heart failure, thereby enabling more rapid and effective intervention.
3.Maximized Time and Telemedicine cost-effectiveness
Telemedicine costs can be reduced by maximizing scheduling opportunities and effectively withstanding the dreaded no-show. Telemedicine visits generally need relatively less time as compared to one-on-one visits, which allows for more number of patient meetings than the number of patients seen in-office during the same time.
4.Use of remote analysis services
Remote analysis services such as telepathology and teleradiology can participate in reducing telemedicine costs and increasing quality care. This is because they permit highly trained professionals to work as a pooled resources. The usage of these remote services allows low-volume providers to have around-the-clock coverage at a lower cost. In smaller facilities, there may not be enough frequency of patients to keep a pathologist or radiologist entirely occupied. Telemedicine allows for fractional employment.
5.Remote monitoring technologies
Remote monitoring technologies are allowing patients to be monitored on an ambulatory basis when they formerly may have required to be monitored as inpatients. Considering the high cost of delivering inpatient services, though, moving some kinds of observation to an outpatient basis sizably decreases the costs borne by the healthcare system.
6.Telemedicine Appointments
By delivering telemedicine appointments, providers can decrease the percentage of their unused capacity that goes to waste. Several services enable providers to start or stop accepting patients based upon their current availability. Since this capacity would contrarily not generate any revenue, providers are able to deliver care to remote patients at a lower telemedicine cost per visit than the one they typically offer. This in turn decreases system costs by allowing patients to receive care at a lower price point.
Costs for healthcare will possibly go on rising. Many people are in the healthcare sector: legislators, insurers, doctors, advocates, pharmaceutical and device companies. There is no effective way to control all of them. But, improvements in technology and automation processes have the means to decrease costs in this field. A strong telemedicine platform combines the best and advanced technologies and the opportunity to endlessly improve and automate many everyday activities. That is a fundamental recipe to reduce the cost of telemedicine.
These were the five ways wherein telemedicine is playing an important role in decreasing overall healthcare spending.
