Patient Communication and Information Sharing in Telehealth

Patient Communication and Information Sharing in Telehealth

Strong communication and information systems are integral to the patient’s ability to find and receive necessary care. Connecting with the right provider can be a strenuous and time-consuming process for patients navigating telehealth systems. Additionally, patients may face complications when ensuring that their provider has access to their past medical information and records. By investing in new technologies and ensuring that existing technologies are interoperable, providers and healthcare systems can lessen the burden on their patients and ensure equitable outcomes for all.

Emerging Technologies

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be an extremely useful tool in healthcare communications. Self-service communication tools that utilize conversation bots can be routed through AI systems. AI can also be used to manage automated processes like scheduling and capturing patient insights through text-to-speech programs. These systems have the capability to act as a fast and efficient solution to problems that have plagued providers for years (Source: Healthcare IT News).

As processes are automated, existing employees can apply themselves to cases requiring additional time or attention, spending resources in a more impactful way. This leads to a better experience for both patients and providers, with less time spent manually managing administrative communication processes. By removing administrative barriers, practices are enabled to spend more time with their patients.

Interoperability

Interoperability, or the ability of systems to share and make use of information, is a vital concept to consider as the use of telehealth platforms continues to grow. As telehealth increases in prevalence and complexity, the number of systems built to support telehealth functions will continue to grow as well. These systems must be interoperable in order to be useful and efficient for patients and for providers. In order to provide the most efficient and comprehensive care, providers need full and complete access to electronic health records (EHRs). Unfortunately, EHRs are often difficult to share between different providers, services, or healthcare systems (Source: Healthcare IT News).

As of now, there are a large number of products on the market that capture electronic health records (EHRs) which makes ensuring interoperability between systems very complicated. Time and resources are often utilized to track down EHRs from a variety of different systems for one patient. If these systems were interoperable and shared information easily, EHRs could be transferred seamlessly between systems, reducing administrative burden and ensuring a better patient experience (Source: National Library of Medicine). A provider could conceivably have immediate access to a patient’s full medical history from a single system. Furthermore, interoperable EHRs would allow for patients to see their own medical information in one convenient place, giving them greater transparency and insight into their own health. If information is able to be easily communicated between systems then providers would be able to focus on their primary and most important responsibility; providing their patients with quality care.

 Further Reading:

• Technology Interoperability and the Opioid Epidemic - Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
• Telehealth Interoperability – American Telemedicine Association (ATA)
• Role of Artificial Intelligence within the Telehealth Domain – National Library of Medicine (NLM)