Telehealth could save more wealth from digital transfers

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the telehealth operations of hospitals and clinics since there was really no other option for treating patients with non-critical needs during the lockdown period in the first and second quarters of 2020.

What may have started as a forced experiment for many clinics struck a resounding chord for patients. Between September 2019 and September 2020, telehealth claim lines increased by nearly 3,000% according to data collected by FAIR Health, an independent non-profit organization.

Telehealth is a catch-all term that describes remote health care services that can include nutrition, exercise, remote monitoring and other aspects of wellness. People with chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease, for example, may use telehealth solutions for glucose monitors and EKGs that keep them connected with clinics.

Telemedicine is a part of telehealth that refers to the actual consultation that takes place remotely between medical care providers and patients for diagnosis, prescriptions and related services. Telemedicine can be as low-tech as a call to a family physician or more advanced with video chat or conferencing via a website or mobile app.

Filling the coverage gap

The consensus for telehealth is that it will continue to replace single-stop visits and be a larger part of how patients and their providers manage chronic health conditions.

Consumers appreciate the convenience of staying at home for a doctor’s appointment rather than sitting in a crowded waiting room. They also appreciate the cost savings. Telehealth fills a gap for many people with high-deductible coverage for catastrophic events by giving them options to get routine care at more affordable rates.

Telehealth not only drives out unnecessary office visits and procedures, but also gives consumers the ability to shop around for services they want to receive. It also helps clinics be more efficient and see more patients.

A study by a team of Harvard investigators found that from January to June 2020, approximately 30% of all visits were provided through telemedicine. Even more importantly, the number of weekly visits increased by 23 times compared to before the pandemic.

Medical specialties that saw the most increase in telemedicine visits, according to the same study, were related to mental health issues that include depression (53% of visits), bipolar disorder (55%), and anxiety (53.9%).

No-touch medical transfers

Medical clinics are looking at technologies that will help them sustain the telehealth movement by providing themselves and their patients with flexible options that will eliminate the need for in-person visits.

BoxLock’s IoT devices and cloud-based platform are already being used by medical clinics as a secure and effective system to transfer medical specimens and samples from doctor’s offices to laboratories. The smart padlocks have cellular connectivity to be deployed anywhere in the medical supply chain at scale, for patients to drop off samples after hours or for clinics to give patients a secure and contactless way to pick up supplies or prescriptions. 

BoxLock’s secure and rugged smart padlocks create digital collection boxes and lockers. With the integrated scanner, a user with permissioned access uses his or her unique barcode identifier to unlock or lock a device. The user can also capture the individual items they are transferring, either as a clinic or patient.

When transferring assets in a medical supply chain, both parties have real-time visibility of items that are available for pickup at mobile and fixed collection sites. The scanning creates instant visibility of inventory and shares event details to a robust, cloud-based suite with access control, audit log and inventory management tools.

For more information about how BoxLock technology can benefit healthcare providers and patients that use telehealth operations, visit www.getboxlock.com/healthcare