The advance of telehealth seems unstoppable at this point. The latest polling tells us that 85% of healthcare providers want to provide more services using digital health or telehealth. The public at large, equally, over the past year continues to increase its demand for telehealth services as well as utilization of the same. The share of Medicare visits conducted through telehealth, for example, rose to 52.7 million in 2020, from approximately 840,000 in 2019, according to a December 2021 report from the US Department of Health & Human Services. On average38 x higher use than pre-Covid utilization.
The type of telehealth offerings differs greatly in very fundamental ways. The most commonly used type of telehealth encounter at the moment is audio and audio/video only (over 95%). The use of audio or audio/video in telehealth, of course, are better than nothing, but audio and audio/video encounters are far from what is required to do the job correctly or safely. The patient's demographic seems to have a lot to do with what type of telehealth visit can be used successfully. Whereas, the young with very few, if any, medical illnesses seem to have acceptable clinical outcomes using an audio/video encounter, the story is quite different for the older population.
As we age our anatomy and physiology change. These anatomical and physiological changes as well as the increase in the number of medical conditions in the over 65 age group with the corresponding physical exam footprint means that physical examination becomes a must to successfully and responsibly manage this demographic using telehealth. “The interplay between the physiology of aging and pathologic conditions more common in the aged complicates and delays diagnosis and appropriate intervention, often with disastrous consequences when not done with skill”. 1 In order for the telehealth idea to move successfully forward into the future it needs to first step back to incorporate the age-old base tenet of physical examination in every healthcare provider consultation. Physical examination needs to find its way into the telehealth encounter, particularly with the elderly. There is a reason why medical schools everywhere demand competence in physical examination skills, particularly when and if disease is present, especially in the elder population.
There are very few companies that provide the technical know-how paired with the underlying ease-of-use software to be able to provide physical examination during a telehealth encounter and keep it simple enough to be used by all involved. Gal3n's use of physical examination peripherals on the patient's side advances care in remote settings. The healthcare provider’s side only requirements is the same working, internet connected computer they already use now. The entire visit occurs from one single screen and all of the options at the patient side are touchscreen guided, making it super user friendly.
Gal3n Health offers a telehealth solution that is simple in its operation and allows for a physical examination to be conducted. It also ensures that healthcare providers are able to properly care for the aging population while allowing them to bill for a complete visit every time, providing a significant increase in reimbursement for the provider.
