Telehealth taking off despite need for more studies

Despite nagging reminders of the lack of long term studies quantifying the benefits of telehealth, healthcare organizations are pushing ahead with plans to adopt the care model. In fact, 46 percent of respondents to the 2011 HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey of technology leaders report having one or more telemedicine programs in place, with another 41 percent claiming they'll have one up and running within the next five years.

Given the rise of mobile, remote monitoring and wireless sensor technologies over the past few years--as well as the government's accompanying funding push and the ready availability of anecdotal evidence claiming that telehealth improves access and quality of care while cutting costs--it only makes sense that the industry would grow in this direction.

But, as HealthLeaders Media reports: "Still, there's that lingering lack of concrete evidence that remote care is significantly better than care delivered in person.

"One new study that examined the impact of telemedicine ICU care on mortality and length of stay got a mixed answer to that question.

"Researchers, who published their findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine in March, reviewed ICU outcome data from 60 years' worth of studies, including those that reported data on the primary outcomes of ICU and in-hospital mortality or on the secondary outcomes of ICU and hospital length of stay.

"The researchers found that while telemedicine can impact ICU mortality and length of stay, it doesn't have the same impact on inpatient hospitalizations. The study suggests that organizations that are using the technology in the ICUs are on the right track.

"Other studies are ongoing. A demonstration project at Wenatchee (WA) Valley Medical Center seeks to show that remote home monitoring can reduce hospitalizations, and, as a result, lower costs among patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

Given the size and scope of investments already made in telehealth, it should be interesting to see these additional studies materialize.

Photo obtained from C PORT Solutions.