Emerging Health IT Trend!

In a world full of technology, it is hard to keep up with new emerging trends that are believed to be long lasting versus short lived. With so much technology being created, many existing software and technologies are being replaced at a high constant rate. Especially since creating new technology is mostly taking the foundation of the already existing technology and adding a few more features or fixing existing software issues by replacing systems with newly discovered technology.

One health care trend I believe that exists today but is not yet in widespread adoption is tele-health video conferencing. I know of a few key healthcare organizations in my area that have implemented these services, but that is only a small fraction considering the vast majority of healthcare providers across the nation. Tele-health video conferencing helps health care providers communicate with their patients via video conferencing versus having the patient visit the actual hospital (Newbould, Mountain, Hawley, & Ariss, 2017). Having these kinds of services eases the burden placed on patients of having to drive any distance to a facility for a routine checkup (VA,2019). From the comforts of their own homes, patients can use their mobile devices or computers to access a secured network provided to them by their healthcare organization and talk to their providers just as if they were in the same room at the clinic or hospital (VA, 2019).

I currently use the Veteran Affairs as my main source for health care needs. Recently, the VA offered me to try out their new tele-health services and I accepted. I thought instead having to drive twenty minutes north in traffic for a routine checkup why not try out this service and see if I would like it. The day prior to my appointment the VA sent out a link to my email address that I provided to test out the system and its features to ensure that the software will be ready to go for my appointment next day. I believe that was a smart move on the VA behalf ensuring that the software and user is familiar with the program before their appointment instead of trying to figure it out during and wasting valuable time. The day of the appointment I log on and enter a chat room where my provider was already there waiting for me. I was able to ask questions about my health and receive the same information I would've gotten if I were to drive up and visit the office physically. From then on, I knew that tele-health video conferencing is not just a fad but will revolutionize the way providers care for their patients.

(VA,2019)

References:

Newbould, L., Mountain, G., Hawley, M. S., & Ariss, S. (2017). Videoconferencing for Health

Care Provision for Older Adults in Care Homes: A Review of the Research Evidence.

International journal of telemedicine and applications, 2017, 5785613.

doi:10.1155/2017/5785613

Veterans Affairs Office (VA). (2019). VA Video Connect. Retrieved from

https://mobile.va.gov/app/va-video-connect