Benefits of Telemedicine for Specialty Consultations to the ED
In healthcare, the “golden hour” refers to the window of time following a traumatic injury when fast medical treatment will offer the patient the greatest chance of survival. For many heart attack and stroke victims, there is only a very short period of time in which the administration of tPA, a clot-busting drug, is most effective in preventing permanent damage or even death. In the case of mental health, if a person enters the ED in need of urgent psychological evaluation, timing is essential in order to prevent risk to the patient or others. For that reason, the emergency department requires fast access to the specialist who is best suited to assess the health of the patient and provide a diagnosis.
Telemedicine allows for consultations to be conducted with remote specialists via virtual visits in real-time, regardless of where the specialist is located. ED staff can launch what is essentially a digital exam room to allow for easier collaboration with specialists who can provide the appropriate diagnosis and form of treatment. This can happen within a moment’s notice, without wasting time waiting for an in-person consultation or making a phone call to a specialist who may not be available. This also allows first responders to more quickly get back to their primary role of responding to healthcare emergencies and treating more patients, rather than waiting at the hospital until their original patient’s case has been assessed and documented.
The key benefits of telemedicine for specialty consultations to the ED include:
Greater Access to Care
Increased Access to Specialists and Collaborative Care
Emergency or urgent care situations often require collaborative care across medical specialties or intensive management by highly specialized teams. Virtual visits can be a complement to ED staff in order to provide higher levels of insight for managing the most critical patients, such as those having a stroke or heart attack.
Increased Access to Specialists
For patients who live in remote areas, where specialists are not always available 24/7, telemedicine allows for increased availability through virtual visits. Without requiring an in-person visit, telemedicine empowers providers to collaborate on a diagnosis and treatment plan.
Real-time Escalation of Cases
When a patient’s condition calls for a specialist or additional assessment, consultation can take place in real time, ensuring timely care and improving outcomes.
Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity
Timely Access to Qualified Care and Assessment
When patients arrive at the ED after having had a stroke, heart attack, or are in need of psychological evaluation, etc., timely evaluation is critical. With prompt assessment via virtual visit, patient management burdens are reduced and treatment decisions can be made more rapidly.
Operational Efficiencies
The use of virtual visits can allow a provider organization to leverage various levels of clinicians to engage the patient to address different needs.
Extended Service Reach
Providers who offer services virtually can expand their reach to new clients beyond their local area, or secure specialty services to better meet patient needs.
Reduced Burden on Medical Professionals
Rather than medical professionals being required to travel great distances to provide care, telemedicine reduces the burden by enabling real-time virtual visits for assessment and treatment, regardless of where the provider is located. This results in increased convenience and more timely care. For first responders, telemedicine reduces the time spent waiting at the hospital until the patient has been assessed and documented, allowing them to get back to treating other patients in a timelier manner.
The GlobalDoc iQ Solution for Specialty Consultations to the ER
GlobalDoc iQ’s Telehealth platform allows emergency department staff to easily launch a virtual visit with a specialist to conduct a consultation in a timely manner. The industry-leading digital exam room incorporates all the tools necessary to engage patients and providers with one click and allows for full documentation. With advanced capabilities such as compatibility with medical devices, high-definition video and screensharing, and multi-party visits, the GlobalDoc iQ Telehealth software platform overcomes traditional barriers to emergency department specialty consultations and allows providers to deliver more timely and efficient care when it’s needed most.
Key features of the GlobalDoc iQ Telehealth platform for specialty consultations to the ED include:
Multi-participant sessions, allow up to six persons to be engaged in a single session. In addition to the patient and the ED staff, specialists can be invited to the encounter should a second opinion be needed and or a case requires escalation.
Powerful rules engine for intelligent workflow, with customized rules that can control patient registration and ensure patients are routed to the appropriate provider.
High-definition video for virtual exams that can support multi-participant and/or clinician-to-clinician sessions, enabling timely care and decision-making when it’s needed most urgently.
Screen sharing enables clinicians to present x-rays, CT scans and MRI images from PACS systems, diagnostic reports, and education materials in real-time to patients or other health care providers as part of a live encounter.
Market-leading compliance adherence and security layers, including HIPAA, HITECH, GDPR and COPPA-compliant software. Combined with complete logging of all transactions, with data available for extract to meet audit requirements.
