Podcast: Beyond hospital walls - the shift to virtual healthcare

Tele-ICUs are great example of how telehealth can extend the line of sight of physicians outside of the hospital. Prior to the pandemic, tele-ICUs demonstrated their value in addressing staff shortages. For example, through a cross-continental tele-ICU collaboration, critical care teams in Australia can keep an eye on patients in a US hospital to reduce the burden of traditional night shift work. With COVID-19 primed to leave a lasting mark on healthcare delivery, the next few years will likely see further expansion of tele-ICU programs around the world.

Remote patient monitoring with the use of wearable biosensors is also becoming more common. The ability to monitor patients from low-acuity settings in the hospital all the way into their homes presents clear benefits from increased comfort for the patient, reduced cost of care, and an opportunity to act on patient deterioration earlier in order to prevent avoidable hospital readmissions.

Healthcare does not need to be defined by the walls in which it takes place. Through effective data integration, AI-enabled clinical decision support tools, and wearables, the physical proximity between the Healthcare consumer and their provider is no longer a limiting factor for high quality care.