Patients’ TVs the Hub for New Telehealth Applications

During Covid, everything was rethought when it came to delivering healthcare and as a result telehealth is taking on a different and better meaning, according to Alan Pitt, MD, Professor, Neuroradiology, Barrow Neurological Institute.

Pitt was part of a panel “Healthcare’s Bright Future,” at the 2023 CREW national conference in Atlanta this week along with Debbie Mitcham, CEO Northpoint Hospital; and Joy Taylor COO at Axion Spine & Neurosurgery.

“Many people think go telehealth as technology that delivers services directly to the patient, such as getting a prescription filled,” Pitt said.

The industry has advanced from that, he said, and is now using televisions in patients’ rooms as the hub for communication, assessment, and treatment.

“The goal of telehealth is to supplement the care by workers, not replace them,” Pitt said. “The patient can flip back and forth from ‘Oprah’ to telemedicine and control their care virtually,” he said.

“Doctors are realizing that the adult child of their patients is one of their greatest resources. If they can connect with them, that adult can help their parent, such as knowing what pills to take and when.

These fixed endpoints (the TVs) can help to reduce some of the staffing challenges.

Nurses can access patients through the TV to see what everyone on their floor is doing in real-time. This hub can also deliver advanced analytics about the care the patient is receiving. Healthcare workers can begin a patient’s appointment by screening them and collecting data through the TV, so they are ready to go when the doctor is able to see them.

“You can build all the hospitals you want, but if there are no health care workers, they will sit empty,” Pitt said. “Technology can help you to design a building that is better suited for hybrid workers.”

Build Only for Revenue-Generating Spaces

Mitcham said when designing spaces, rely on value engineering and eliminate spaces that are no longer necessary.

Rooms have to be flexible, at Northpoint, all are the same size and come with the same equipment.”

Taylor said doctors’ offices (not the examination rooms) in hospitals and large medical buildings are being shrunk and even phased out. She’s also seeing more hoteling of offices (shared space).

Pitt joked, “No more room for all of those diplomas to be hung on the wall.”

Taylor said if the space doesn’t generate revenue, it can be eliminated. Meanwhile, most administrative jobs can now all be done remotely, further reducing the amount of square footage that is needed, she said.

Seeking Knowledge and Solutions

Pitt said those in the medical office real estate business should seek out to speak more to physicians to brainstorm more solutions and likewise, physicians should get out their ‘bubbles’ more and learn from other sources.

Taylor said, “I want real estate brokers to educate me more about what they are seeing. I might need to dial down my expectations about a given property and they can help me to better understand what I’m looking at.”