Strategies to build on the advantages of telehealth

Remote care: Distance may not be the biggest challenge > Strategies to build on the advantages of telehealth

Strategies to build on the advantages of telehealth

The conversation

Virtual care after COVID-19: Overcoming five barriers to permanence

We recently held a round-table discussion with key opinion leaders on a topic of growing interest, Virtual care after COVID-19: Overcoming five barriers to permanence. Telehealth and virtual care services spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, giving hospitals and healthcare providers the power to respond to the immediate healthcare needs of their populations.

In the short term, it certainly looks like this explosion in adoption is set to continue: for example, in our 2021 Future Health Index Report, we revealed 64% of global healthcare leaders are currently investing heavily in virtual care, with the United States (89%), the Netherlands (83%) and Saudi Arabia (81%) leading the charge. However, virtual care faces systemic and cultural barriers that may prevent its permanence.

According to the Future Health Index two of the biggest barriers are data management (44%) and lack of interoperability and data standards across technology platforms (37%).
There are unique infrastructure barriers across almost every region and community, from mobile device accessibility to data management and interoperability.
Community virtual health initiatives can also help bridge the gap between patients and providers in areas where consumer technologies like smartphones and webcams are scarce.

Our perspective

Why this matters for sleep and respiratory patients

According to research¹, a majority of global healthcare leaders are currently investing in virtual care. Indeed, the rise of telehealth technologies during the pandemic connected doctors and patients across geographies. Telehealth can play a key role in interactions between patients and sleep and respiratory clinicians, from staying on top of symptoms to checking in when office visits are not possible. This is especially true if systems are suffering from staff shortages.

But how do we ensure all sleep and respiratory patients can benefit from this technology in the long run? The article, Virtual care after COVID-19: Overcoming five barriers to permanence, touches on a less obvious barrier to greater adequate telehealth adoption: digital and health literacy inequalities. Growing evidence suggests that limited health literacy is associated with a higher incidence of disease burden of illness, especially chronic disease. This has a spiralling effect.

Overcoming the hidden barrier of health literacy - including the cultural and language issues associated with it - is complex. To drive change across populations, all participants in the health system should be involved - healthcare providers, governments, educational institutions and regulators. If telehealth technology can continue to transform healthcare and address population health its benefits need to be felt by the many, not the few.

More from

"Addressing health inequity: the experts speak"

Remote care: Distance may not be the biggest challenge

Dr. Frederic Seifer discusses how remote monitoring brings patients into the health system and is transforming the doctor-patient relationship.
Click here to learn more

More :

SRC
Using precision medicine to address health disparities

In this CME/CE approved presentation, Dr. Azizi Seixas discusses how population health approaches can help drive new ways to solve health disparities.
Click here to learn more

More :

SRC
A conversation on Global health inequities: how sleep and nutrition can play a part in possible solutions

Professor Shantha Rajaratnam and Dr. Sandro DeMaio discuss and share evidence of the importance of addressing health inequalities and how it factors into to sleep health.
Click here to learn more

More :

SRC

Stay up-to-date and subscribe

By submitting this form, I agree to receive marketing related digital communications about Philips products, services, events and offers that may be relevant to my given your user preferences and behavior. I can revoke my consent at any time.

Salutation

First name*

Last name*

Academic title

Email address*

Specialty

Company

Job title

Function

Zip or Postal Code

State or Province

Phone

What is cross border data transfer?

I agree on cross-border transfer of personal information.

I consent to the processing of my personal data by Philips S.p.A. for profiled marketing purposes for sending promotional communications relating to products, services, events, periodic surveys and personalized promotions based on my preferences and interests, in the manner illustrated in the Information.

I hereby consent to processing of my personal data and sensitive personal data (if any) and transfer of such data abroad, in accordance with the Privacy Notice that can be found here.

Les informations collectées sont enregistrées par Philips France Commercial, 33 rue de Verdun 92150 Suresnes. Vos données seront conservées en dehors de l’Union Européenne et utilisées par les services marketing de Philips pour une durée de 24 mois à compter de leur collecte ou du dernier contact de votre part. Conformément à la loi n°78-17 Informatique et Libertés modifiée et au Règlement européen n° 2016/679 vous bénéficiez, sur les données personnelles qui vous concernent, d’un droit d’accès et de rectification et, s'ils sont applicables, d'un droit de suppression, d’opposition, d'effacement, de limitation du traitement, et de portabilité. Vous pouvez exercer ces droits en vous adressant à : privacy@philips.com en fournissant un justificatif d'identité. Vous pouvez également définir des directives relatives au sort de vos données après votre décès et introduire une réclamation auprès de la CNIL.

References:

1. 1. Healthcare leaders look beyond the crisis. Philips. Accessed December 15, 2021. https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/news/future-health-index/reports/2021/healthcare-leaders-look-beyond-the-crisis