Telehealth can assist healthcare systems, organizations, and providers in expanding access and improve the quality of care. Telehealth can also improve remote monitoring, timeliness, and communications within the healthcare system.
Another benefit: solve pollution, save the planet and lives
Using telehealth in rural areas can reduce or minimize challenges and burdens patients encounter, such as transportation issues related to travelling.
The U.S. health sector is responsible for an estimated 10% of annual emissions, which demonstrates that the healthcare industry has tremendous opportunity to reduce its environmental impact. A 2017 study tracked telemedicine savings between 1996 and 2013. The results found patients avoided more than 5 million miles of driving. The virtual visits also prevented nearly 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and 50 metric tons of carbon monoxide.
Healthcare leaders can use them to justify the expansion of a telehealth program as part of their own green initiatives. Your average hospital burns lights and energy around the clock, consuming thousands of pounds of paper. And that’s before calculating the emissions generated by the vehicles of every provider, patient, staff member, and visitor. Healthcare leaders know this and many hospitals are trying to reduce their single-use plastics consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and overall energy use. These numbers matter, not just because they’re good news for the environment.
But also, Telehealth’s sustainability advantage isn’t just about saving the planet – it’s about the patient, too
Consider the likelihood of extreme weather events. That’s a direct consequence of climate change, and those events –from wildfires to tsunamis to hurricanes – can block patients from picking up much-needed medications or visiting their physician’s office. Telehealth not only reduces emissions but connects patients to care even if a natural disaster has limited their travel. When a winter storm tore through the region, clinicians were able to keep seeing patients from their own homes. Digital health tools help clinicians provide care even when fallen trees, flooding, and evacuations make it impossible to be there in person.
What types of conditions would patients seek telehealth treatment for?
According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), in 2020 remote workers were utilizing telehealth, mental health support and well-being benefits to a greater degree than employees in the office because being at home gives them more privacy and windows of opportunity to use it. Now as the workplace continues to evolve with more employees working from home, telehealth could become even more important to your employees. The BCG data indicates that up to 85 percent of behavioral healthcare and 40 to 50 percent of primary care could occur via virtual visits.
