What Are Virtual-Healthcare-Services Trends in Saskatchewan

1. What Are Virtual-Healthcare-Services Trends in Saskatchewan? Virtual healthcare is the use of communication technology such as telephones, video calls, and mobile apps to deliver health services remotely to patients outside of a health system. Virtual healthcare in Saskatchewan is essential to compensate resource and staff shortages, manage chronic conditions and monitor certain conditions remotely. (1) Promoted by the advancement in technology and even accelerated by the pandemic, we are entering a new era, where in-person and virtual healthcare services will be seamlessly integrated and the choice of which one to go with will only depend on suitability to your medical condition and the cost.(2) Why should I try virtual healthcare services? ● Easy access to healthcare services than ever Virtual healthcare services are very helpful to remote patients whether in rural or underserved area. Virtual healthcare can offer life-saving services particularly for those patients who don't have many qualified doctors where they live. (1) ● More efficient healthcare services than ever The American Medical Association says that "Virtual healthcare services are a promising step to improve the quality of patient care". The AMA also said that the relationship between patient and physician is becoming stronger as virtual healthcare services expand providing more medical services remotely. (1) ● Convenience Lots of time is usually wasted on routine doctor visits whether stuck in traffic or patiently waiting in a waiting room. “Virtual visits reduce traveltime,” says George Go, M.D., of Kaiser Permanente Northwest. (3) ● Managing chronic conditions Many hospital systems monitor chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases and COPD using virtual healthcare technologies daily to detect any problem early and take immediate actions. (3)

2. ● Treating urgent systems When you wake up having a fever or cough, the last thing you want to do is to drag yourself out of house to sit-in waiting among lots of other patients. Virtual care allows you to arrange an appointment right from your bed. (3) ● Reduced healthcare cost Virtual healthcare services result in saving more than six billion dollars per year as reported by Towers Watson. These savings came from better management of chronic illnesses, reducing travel time and fewer or shorter hospital admissions. Those are wins for everybody. (1) What are the new trends in virtual healthcare services? "Virtual healthcare services are here to stay and expand" that's what the statistics is telling us. Virtual healthcare services will be worth more than 66 billion dollars by the end of 2021 as reported by Mordor Intelligence. The new advancements and trends currently available in virtual healthcare are as follow: Virtual visits  Virtual visits offer patients the opportunity to communicate with a trained medical specialist through a secure, two-way digital conversion instead of visiting the doctor's clinic. A BC study said that 79% of patients who experienced a virtual visit reported that the quality of care was equal to an in-person visit. (4) Patient portals  Patient portals are a new trend in virtual healthcare that allows patients to gain a secure access to their personal health information online. Patients feel more engaged in their health management and more capable of taking informed decisions with their doctors. A study shows that about 94% say they value monitoring their health information online. (4) Electronic health and medical records  An electronic health record (EHR) contains all the interactions the patients make with the healthcare system. Doctors can access lab results, x-rays, ultrasound results and other information such as patient activity and family history, all in one place. They can also review different types of care the patient has received whether in a hospital or with a specialist. (4) Telehomecare  Telehomecare, also known as remote patient monitoring (RPM), gives the healthcare provider (most likely a nurse or paramedic) the ability to see and help patients manage their condition on their own. (4) e-Mental health  e-Mental health is a virtual healthcare trend providing mental health services and information in several forms such as: Crisis support — video calls, phone calls, text support and online chat support Peer-led support — ranging from games to chat rooms and peer support apps. Coaching — online therapy in the form of video, voice and text chat.(4)   

3. Advanced technology and healthcare apps  Although virtual healthcare services provide you with a convenient conversion with a trained medical specialist from the comfort of your home, patient participation and engagement can always be improved. As the "app culture" emerges and becomes so popular in our society, expect to find improved healthcare apps that take the communication between patient and health provider to another level. You can also find apps that personalize your information to be able to access it easily with the swipe of a finger. (5) Expansion of the decentralized healthcare  Healthcare professionals are shifting, in rapidly increasing numbers, from the larger hospital complexes to small community-based practices. This trend is characterized by many hospitals offering their services in decentralized locations. As the world evolves, it's expected to see younger healthcare professionals prefer the flexible advantages that virtual healthcare offer and continue the move towards decentralization by participating in providing more virtual healthcare services. (5) Stronger cyber security measures than ever  Cyber security is indispensable since virtual healthcare depends completely on technology. Virtual healthcare systems are not strangers to cyber-attacks but as virtual healthcare services are expanding and gaining more popularity, cyber security became the first priority. In the coming few days, we'll definitely witness massive improvement in the way virtual healthcare systems protect confidential information. (5) Consolidation  As the business costs continue to rise and the regulations are becoming more stringent, lots of small practices are struggling to keep their doors open or expand properly. These practices began to seek help from other virtual healthcare companies to find a solution. It won't be surprising if many of these practices join up with major virtual healthcare services who have the finances to keep expanding and thriving. These “alliances” will allow large virtual healthcare companies to offer more specialized services which they will acquire by absorbing failing practices. These are wins for everybody. (5) Proprietary hardware/software is turning into a past experience  Hospitals and virtual healthcare companies have always been using proprietary software and hardware to provide their services to the patients. However, they're all expected to shift to easy- to-use and widely distributed secure software because the advantages these programs offer, such as being user-friendly and much more affordable compared to implementing proprietary systems. (5) Fewer and shorter visits to the ER (emergency room)  If you sprain your ankle, the only option, you will have, is to visit the emergency room. However, with the ease and convenience of virtual healthcare services around, it's way easier to get

4. treatable diseases looked at and diagnosed long before it progresses to a point that requires a visit to the emergency room. (5) Conclusion The technology supporting virtual healthcare services did not start to appear in 2020 — it has been there for years. It just needed the COVID-19 pandemic to push virtual healthcare services forward, and to make more health providers, institutions, and patients adopt and embrace digital health trends and modern technology. As remote virtual healthcare services, rapidly growing research and development practices now functioning at their highest capacity, healthcare providers and patients got to realize the value of digital healthcare services. Funding and investment activities indicate that almost everybody understands the value in virtual health trends, too. (6) References 1- "What Is Virtual Healthcare? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)" Available at: https://tigerconnect.com/about/faqs/what-is-virtual-healthcare/ 2- "How to Measure the Value of Virtual Health Care" Available at: https://hbr.org/2021/06/how-to-measure-the-value-of-virtual-health-care 3- "5 Benefits of Virtual Care for Patients" Available at https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2018/telemedicine-telehealth-virtual- care-benefits.html 4- "Virtual healthcare trends" Available at: https://www.coverme.com/blog/health/is-virtual-healthcare- trends.html?province=ON&agecode=0 5- "Trends in TELEMEDICINE: 2021" Available at https://www.medicalalertadvice.com/resources/telemedicine-trends/ 6- "Digital Health Trends 2021: 5 Technologies That Will Define the Future of Healthcare" Available at: https://masschallenge.org/article/digital-health-trends