Virtual care centers and telemedicine are emerging as the next major wave in healthcare, U.S. News reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. The virtual care centers monitor a patient's vital signs on a daily basis, and can intervene before a problem happens, Mercy Medical, of Chesterfield, Mo., Director Gavin Helton said.
2. Virtual care isn't new, but new clinics like Mercy Hospital are taking the concept to the next level.
3. Mercy Hospital is a 125,000-square-foot facility, but unlike a traditional hospital it has no waiting rooms, hospital beds or patients. Instead it houses 300 medical professionals, seated in front of rows of monitors, watching over the patients of 38 hospitals in seven states.
4. The physicians do everything from observing care in ICUs to monitoring chronically-ill patients on a nearly continuous basis.
5. ICU mortality rates are "trending 40 percent less than predicted," Mercy Virtual's president Randall Moore said. "By virtually monitoring ICUs 24/7, we're getting to problems earlier.
6. In the past year, 1,000 long-term ICU patients were allowed to return home, and the around the clock monitoring by Mercy saved the hospital $40 million.
7. Mercy Virtual isn't the only care center. CHI Health, which runs 14 midwestern hospitals, and Virginia Mason in Seattle partnered with telehealth company Carena to create a 24/7 physician on demand program. When patients access the portal, they can request a visit and expect to interact with a physician in 30 minutes or less. Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has a similar arrangement but uses only Jefferson physicians to deliver the care.
8. The University of Southern California is using a app to allow patients to meet with a "lifelike avatar" of their doctor to help guide them through complex medical decisions.
The avatars will have the ability to recognize emotion and show empathy and will have a personalized knowledge base to treat patients.
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