Managing chronic diseases and conditions is one of the rising concerns today as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and obesity are a leading cause of death and disability in the U.S.

Research reveals that around 6 out of 10  adults in the US are affected by at least one chronic disease; it has become a big challenge for the healthcare industry to manage these diseases at a low cost while providing high-quality care.

Also, chronic diseases are the leading drivers of the nation’s healthcare costs, around $3.8 Trillion annually.

Can telemedicine help?

Yes, telemedicine has emerged as an effective solution for managing such expensive diseases efficiently. Many doctors are using telemedicine solutions to help patients manage their chronic diseases through personalized intervention measured from home using innovative tools and technologies. So can you!

No wonder chronic disease management is viewed as one of the key priorities in healthcare. Technology is playing a major role in shaping new care delivery models for addressing growing chronic care demands.

Here’s how a telemedicine solution can equip you for better chronic disease management of your patients:

Facilitates access to specialized Care

Telemedicine is proving to be a boon for patients with chronic conditions, especially for the ones living in rural areas or the ones suffering from mobility issues. Usually, rural areas lack specialized care and patients with chronic conditions find it harder to travel long distances to see a care provider.

With telemedicine, your patients can easily access specialized care from the comforts of their homes without having to travel. Moreover, with the convenience of regular consultations, they are more likely to adhere to treatment recommendations.

Allows to sort out new symptoms in real-time

Patients with chronic conditions often see new symptoms pop up either as an indication of their deteriorating condition or the emergence of a new chronic condition.

Before the advent of telemedicine, the need to travel long distances for in-person consultations often led patients to visit their healthcare providers only when their health conditions used to get worse.

That is no longer the case with telemedicine; instead of ignoring the symptoms altogether, your patients can now quickly consult with you as soon as they appear, in almost real-time.

Minimizes hospital readmission rates

Patients with chronic conditions account for a large percentage of hospital admissions in the U.S. making it an expensive affair. You can use telemedicine to remotely monitor your patients’ conditions and ensure that they are keeping up with your treatment regime.

Your patients can easily access your teleconsultation on a routine basis, have answers to their health-related queries and stay motivated to keep up with prescribed lifestyle changes.

Therefore, having a telemedicine solution integrated into your practice reduces your patients’ chances of being readmitted to the hospital and thus reduces the cost of care.

Improves patients’ chances of recovery

The preference of patients to keep follow-up visits to a minimum was a major hindrance in chronic disease management. As those visits not only cost them a significant amount of time and money but also disrupted their day-to-day responsibilities.

As telemedicine helps you create a seamless patient experience, it effectively reduces the instances of patient reluctance for follow-ups. This in turn ensures patient compliance to treatment and improves their chances of recovery.

Enables preventive care

A telemedicine solution not just helps you effectively manage chronic care for your patients but also supports preventive care programs.

Thus, you can remotely monitor the health of your patients who are at risk of developing chronic diseases, give them the right advice and make sure that their health is managed at home.

Helps empower and educate patients

You can educate your patients via online consultations and equip them to manage their health better. This is substantiated by a study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

Moreover, having easy access to you as their provider in order to assist and guide them if they need you also boosts their confidence to self-manage their chronic diseases.

Summing up

Given the demonstrated benefits of telemedicine, you already know that implementing a telemedicine solution into your practice is a need of the hour. Not only it would help your patients to manage their chronic illnesses but also help them to prevent these diseases from developing.

A telemedicine solution would help you maximize positive patient health outcomes from chronic disease management in the days to come.

Do you have a telemedicine solution integrated into your practice? If not, then what’s stopping you from embracing this innovative solution?

We would love to hear from you, please let us know by leaving a message in the comments below.