Virtual care can be implemented across every point in the care continuum, for all departments in a healthcare organization. And virtual care isn’t limited to video visits or general concerns.
An EHR-integrated virtual care platform improves patient access to better care, wherever they are, for practically any type of care they need.
With the powerful capabilities of Bluestream Health, virtual care isn’t just for general video visits anymore!
Practices That Use Virtual Care:
- Primary care
- Primary care providers have long-term relationships with their patients. They provide preventative care and general appointments such as annual wellness exams. They care for patients with a range of health-related issues. Day-to-day appointments can be accomplished virtually. When needed, specialists or interpreters are added to virtual video visits.
- Inpatient care
- Virtual care in hospitals can reduce transmission of communicable diseases. Devices such as hospital-owned tablets or even patient-owned smartphones can help patients and providers communicate without requiring personal protective equipment (PPE). Virtual care and remote patient monitoring can improve outcomes, especially when extended follow-up care is required.
- Virtual care in hospitals can reduce transmission of communicable diseases. Devices such as hospital-owned tablets or even patient-owned smartphones can help patients and providers communicate without requiring personal protective equipment (PPE). Virtual care and remote patient monitoring can improve outcomes, especially when extended follow-up care is required.
- Outpatient and Ambulatory care
- Outpatient care refers to any care that does not require an overnight stay. Some outpatient care requires a pre-visit consultation, which could be done virtually. Post-visit follow-up care and monitoring can also be done virtually. When follow-up care is more convenient for patients, care compliance improves!
The following outpatient and ambulatory services benefit greatly from virtual care:- Mental health appointments
- Annual wellness exams
- Physical therapy
- Colonoscopy pre-visit and follow-up care
- Blood/urine tests pre-visit and follow-up care
- Mammogram follow-up care
- Chemotherapy and radiation pre-visit and follow-up care
- Outpatient care refers to any care that does not require an overnight stay. Some outpatient care requires a pre-visit consultation, which could be done virtually. Post-visit follow-up care and monitoring can also be done virtually. When follow-up care is more convenient for patients, care compliance improves!
- Emergency care
- At least 30% of emergency room visits are not acute, meaning the patient could receive the care they need from an urgent care center or even from home. Virtual care helps Emergency Department staff triage patients remotely, keep potentially contagious patients out of the ED, and provide more timely service and care to the patients with the most urgent need.
- Urgent care
- When a patient is ill or injured, but not severely enough to require the emergency room, they seek out urgent care centers. Virtual urgent care visits can determine if a patient needs to come to the clinic or hospital to seek further medical attention, or if they could continue receiving remote care at home.
- Skilled nursing care
- Nurses can use virtual health to triage patients, help them manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, assess care plans, provide in-home wound care and much more. Virtual care enables nurses to provide better care for more patients—especially when it seamlessly integrates with an EHR.
- Rural health clinics
- Rural communities benefit heavily from virtual care. People who live in rural communities tend to be older and less healthy than people in urban areas. Virtual care improves rural communities’ access to specialty care, connects providers to more patients over a larger geographic region, and improves monitoring and prevention of chronic diseases.
Bluestream Health makes virtual care simple.
The right virtual care platform can help any practice improve their quality of care, access to care, and even speed to provide care to those who need it most. Bluestream Health makes it easy to implement virtual care into your organization in just a few weeks.
Contact us today to learn how Bluestream Health can expand your virtual care capabilities.