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Telehealth has improved access to healthcare in remote areas where there was no suitable alternative. With many telehealth workstation options available today, how do facilities choose the right solution and implement successfully?
Telehealth has been used for years to remotely connect caregivers with patients. It has improved access to healthcare and distributed specialized care to remote areas. The expansion of telehealth was historically slow due to several barriers, but the COVID-19 pandemic increased acceptance and recognition of the value of telehealth technologies.
We talked with Steve Torbett, Product Manager at Capsa Healthcare, who offers 5 key considerations when selecting telehealth-enabled workstations, and how to ensure successful deployment.
Ease of use and reliability are paramount, much more so than with other technologies. Patients need to feel comfortable with the virtual experience. When the system is well designed, software and devices used with telehealth can offer advantages and benefits to physicians compared to a physical visit.
Software is obviously critical to success, and like all other software, it will evolve and improve rapidly. As with all improvements in healthcare, interoperability and integration with medical records and other healthcare IT systems will be a challenge.
In selecting and designing telehealth workstations, consider power and battery requirements associated with mobile use, monitors and displays, cabling and cable management, cleaning and infection control, and flexibility and ability to reconfigure. Choosing multi-purpose workstations that can be reconfigured to use different technology without starting over is important. Be sure to consider ergonomics and safety. Workstations with a lot of adjustability to adapt to each user’s needs is critical to their health and satisfaction. Finally, there are significant advantages to using workstations that are already preferred by nurses and that they are already familiar with and using elsewhere.
On a fleet level, there are several important factors to consider. Using workstations that are consistent with those used elsewhere provides a lot of benefits with maintaining and supporting a fleet of workstations, compared to having to manage non-standard custom telehealth workstations. Fleet management software that supports tracking and monitoring workstations’ readiness and utilization is important.
As is true with any healthcare technology, it is best to work with leading vendors who have experience, broad product lines, and superior service networks and logistics. Think about lifetime costs and what it takes to support the fleet of workstations. Because telehealth is often deployed to remote locations, it is best to work with vendors who have broad service coverage and reach, and who can respond to issues quickly.
Learn more about Capsa Healthcare’s Telehealth Workstations.
Like this? Read another blog featuring Capsa’s Steve Torbett, The Future Of Mobile Workstations