Post-Treatment Telephone and Video Conferencing Monitoring of Patients

Using Post-Treatment Telephone and Video Conferencing Monitoring of Patients to Avoid or Reduce Unplanned Readmissions
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Using Post-Treatment Telephone and Video Conferencing Monitoring of Patients to Avoid or Reduce Unplanned Readmissions
Patient readmissions are a major issue of concern among healthcare providers. This is because most readmissions are unplanned, and gives caregivers little time to respond appropriately to patient needs during emergency cases. At the same time, it increases costs as more resources are required to take care of readmitted patients. To address this problem, caregivers should either anticipate the occurrence of unplanned readmissions by providing standby medical staff and resources, or implementing follow-up programs to monitor the progress of discharged patients. Although both interventions require additional spending, the first strategy is costly because it creates a pool of unutilized resources during periods when there are no emergencies. At the same time, caregivers will take more time to diagnose the cause of new complications unrelated to the initial reason of treatment, despite the fact that they were ready for the emergency. On the other hand, follow-up programs gives caregivers the opportunity to monitor the patient's progress and detect any new complications at the earliest opportunity, whether such complications are related to the initial reason for treatment or not. This executive summary highlights the need to implement a post-treatment telephone and video conferencing monitoring program for patients diagnosed with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer as a way to avoid or reduce cases of readmissions.
According to a recent study, nearly 20 percent of patients discharged from hospitals after treatment for chronic diseases, are readmitted within the first month (American Hospital Association, 2011). While some of the readmissions are planned as part of regular check-ups on the patient's recovery progress, most others are unplanned. The latter result from complications related to the initial reason for treatment, as well as complications arising from new infections and complications unrelated to the initial reason. An increase in the rates of unplanned readmissions can adversely affect the quality of care services offered by hospitals and health centers. In addition to the fact that unplanned readmissions do not provide healthcare givers enough time to prepare for emergency interventions, they exert pressure on the existing facilities and increase costs (Vest, et al., 2010). For instance, care givers may have to provide extra beds if the facility is already full. The implication of this scenario is clear; the overall quality of care services will be compromised. This is because caregivers will have to readjust time and resource allocation to cater for the needs of the readmitted patients, which often may involve reducing the time and resources allocated to other inpatients.
The major risk facing discharged patients is the absence of regular physician checkup. According to Dr. Eiran Gorodeski, an associate staff member in cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic notes that patients are often left on their own after d...