The rising demand for emergency care services, combined with this year’s Covid-19 pandemic, has led to an increase in emergency crowding, increased costs, pressure on medical staff members, expanded waiting times, and overall less access to healthcare services. Urgent care services have begun to fill in the needs of those suffering from Covid-19 symptoms and those with other chronic health conditions. How people choose to access their health services has drastically changed; telemedicine has created an alternative route for patients not only to continue to be safe during the pandemic but also to have better access to services in urgent scenarios non-covid related.
What Telemedicine Has Done For Urgent Care Centers
Many studies have already begun to claim the benefits of urgent care services, where chronic conditions and patients experiencing symptoms can get a faster, ultimately more reliable response from medical professionals. However, because of the drastic changes the Covid-19 pandemic has brought, many patients have begun to choose virtual settings for their illnesses to not only slow the spread but get better access to the services they need. Studies such as those found in the Public Health Emergency COVID-19 Initiative have looked at the rapidly changing environment urgent care centers have faced and found that patients seeking urgent care services throughout the city have helped telemedicine services expand.
According to the study, the impact virtual environments had on an urgent care setting ultimately scaled to manage the volume and influx of more than 17,000 patients within a month throughout the pandemic surge. Within this influx, at least 450 has to be referred to an emergency department, and through multiple providers, found that it minimized the spread during surges. While only 49% of responding patients would have sought care within an emergency room, and 37% preferring in-person urgent care, virtual care urgent platforms have the potential to service over 800 people a day during the pandemic surge and can help patients suffering from chronic conditions receive treatment faster.
Why Use Virtual Telemedicine For Your Health?
Telemedicine has the ability to treat patients on a widespread scale and help evaluate patients for a variety of conditions before being recommended to a local emergency department or specialty center. Urgent care centers with virtual capacity can provide numerous benefits for patients seeking services, such as:
- Improved Access: Finding better access to care treatments can include telemedicine solutions, such as video one-on-one calls, to give patients in rural areas more access to the resources they need.
- Reduce Infections: Even beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, those chronically ill can help reduce the spread of diseases and viruses to others and significantly reduce exposure.
- Clear Diagnosis and Treatment: Diagnosis programs that narrow down symptoms and medical streaming devices that incorporate patient information can allow physicians in urgent care scenarios to diagnose and treat patients better.
- Save Money: Patients who choose virtual visit options can also save money by reducing the costs of gas, transportation, and other factors that come with visits.
Telemedicine gives providers the ability to screen patients for their symptoms, assess their risk, and provide medical attention by recommending in-person visits and specialty practices to help their pain management. Urgent care centers can have a more interactive setting with their patients, and primary-urgent care practices like ours at MD First Primary & Urgent Care can be here for you.
