Tech companies are transforming people’s bedrooms into ‘virtual hospitals.’ Will it last Post-Covid?

‘Telehealth advocates say now is the time to act. A range of virtual offerings could be revolutionary for patients who are seriously sick, need long-term care, or live in rural areas, where hospital closings have left millions of Americans without easy access to treatment. “The environment in a hospital, although it’s very conducive to high intensity care, is not that conducive to being able to engage in normal activities of daily living that might be actually important for recovery,” says Dr. Michael Apkon, president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center...

‘Telehealth can also play an important role in helping patients before they reach the point of needing hospital care. When non-urgent procedures were canceled during the early months of the pandemic, many Americans turned to virtual visits to keep up with routine treatment and ask for guidance from health care providers before venturing into offices.’

Read here (Time, August 10, 2020) 

What does recovery from Covid-19 look like?

“Eighty to 85% of our patients who are infected do not need to be hospitalized, but they do require monitoring and medical care, most of which is now taking place with telehealth,” Dr. Ellman says. He says it’s typical for these patients to have a telehealth appointment, either on phone or video, at least every other day for 10 to 14 days from the onset of symptoms...

“Generally speaking, most patients can be managed outside of the hospital,” Dr. Sofair says. “But if you start to get sicker, early treatment can prevent complications. If you do need to be admitted to the hospital, that does not mean you will get really sick. Only a minority of patients end up in the ICU. We have had many good outcomes, and our doctors and nurses now have experience treating this.”

Read here (Yale Medicine, May 18, 2020)

Naomi Klein: How big tech plans to profit from the pandemic

‘The issue is not whether schools must change in the face of a highly contagious virus for which we have neither cure nor inoculation. Like every institution where humans gather in groups, they will change. The trouble, as always in these moments of collective shock, is the absence of public debate about what those changes should look like, and who they should benefit – private tech companies or students?

‘The same questions need to be asked about health. Avoiding doctor’s offices and hospitals during a pandemic makes good sense. But telehealth misses a huge amount. So we need to have an evidence-based debate about the pros and cons of spending scarce public resources on telehealth – rather than on more trained nurses, equipped with all the necessary protective equipment, who are able to make house calls to diagnose and treat patients in their homes.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 13, 2020)

National action plan for expanding and adapting the healthcare system for the duration of the Covid pandemic

This 24-page report by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security offers answers and recommendations related to the following problems, for which there are tractable solutions:

• How can we improve infection prevention in hospitals and maintain a robust supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE)?
• What approach should we take to restarting deferred healthcare services?
• What financial support is needed for hospitals and healthcare providers?
• How should the healthcare workforce be sustained and augmented?
• How can we provide mental health support for healthcare workers in this crisis?
• How can we provide medical care and sick leave for all people in the United States?
• How can we make telemedicine a new normal?
• How can we reduce the number of undiagnosed infectious diseases in our hospitals?
• How can we better protect emergency medical services (EMS) personnel from infectious diseases?
• How can we better coordinate the healthcare response to COVID and the next pandemic?

Read and download here (Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, May 5, 2020)

Boris Johnson recovery shows need for rehabilitation after coronavirus

‘One answer is having more rehabilitation teams – comprising doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists and dieticians – treat patients in their own homes. This can be done via telehealth and online platforms, which allows services to be delivered in a way that minimises risk to health professionals and doesn’t further deplete personal protection equipment.

‘Rehabilitation reduces bed block as patients are discharged more quickly. It also takes pressure off GPs and reduces re-presentations to emergency departments for issues that can be dealt with at home.’

Read here (The Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2020)