- A novel use of telehealth in emergency medicine

Emergency Medicine

- Ease of Prescription
- Expanding Virtual Care and Privacy

Psychiatry

Going into the future of clinical research, a blended approach of both in-person and telehealth patient interaction must be considered. Some of the telehealth approaches moving forward could be connecting to patients via virtual outreach (videos explaining procedures, etc.), collecting remote informed consent, and telephone or video-based intervention. The most important thing to consider after the pandemic, is the implementation of HIPAA in various telehealth practices as patient privacy must be considered above all else. Of course, not all practices can be achieved through telehealth, like biospecimen collection, but a blended approach would go a long way for the future of clinical research.

Telehealth in Clinical Research

- Psychiatry 
- Emergency Medicine
- Clinical Research

Ohio State University, Columbus

The COVID-19 infection has shown increased death rates among older patients. Relatedly, the majority of healthcare workers, across the world, are over the age of 50 and are at higher risk of getting infected due to interactions with infected patients. In order to safeguard those in the healthcare profession who are at a higher risk of mortality, a restructuring of the healthcare system is necessary, and telehealth is at the forefront of said restructuring. 

Restructuring the Healthcare System using Telemedicine

The implementation of outreach based public health measures outside of the hospital setting – like home-based screening and home quarantine – are important in the containment of infected patients. Most COVID-19 cases have been treated in the public hospital setting and in order to reduce the amount of hospital resources used for COVID-19 patients, non-severe cases of infection could be isolated and treated at home. The frontline teams of younger healthcare workers treating these cases could be supported virtually by senior workers. This utilization of telemedicine would keep high risk senior workers at a low risk of infection and allow younger frontline workers to gain necessary experience. 

Home-based Care

A younger healthcare force at the frontline would reduce the contact of higher risk healthcare employees with infected patients. Junior doctors and paramedics would be able to run frontline health services and would gain necessary experience in the field while keeping senior workers safe by limiting their interactions with infected patients. This frontline work could be supported by senior workers through telemedicine while the senior workers would work in-person in areas of the hospital where risk of infection is low.

Younger Frontline Workers

The healthcare disparity between rural and urban areas has been a persistent problem that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, rural areas already had less capacity in hospital and emergency care settings as well as a life expectancy 2 years less than their urban counterparts. During the pandemic, these healthcare settings have had to deal with the lessened capacity as well as the, on average, older population. This is not to mention the higher rate of preexisting conditions as well as higher rates of poverty that has been a consistent factor in rural areas for many years. A restructuring of the healthcare system in rural areas would be integral in improving the situation for people served by these systems.

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