Role of Tele-ICU in Reducing ICU Length of Stay
An ICU, or the intensive care unit, is the busiest section of a healthcare organization. According to SCCM, almost five million people in the USA are admitted to it yearly.
Most of them usually require the assistance of an ICU to get support for breathing or air circulation. However, some doctors also admit critical patients in these units to perform invasive or intensive monitoring.
The length of dwelling in the ICU usually depends on the illness of an individual. However, as per a research module, the average staying period was around 10.2 to 25.2 days.
Nonetheless, the introduction of Tele-ICU has reduced this massive staying period due to several reasons. The following are a few of them –
Fewer Chances of Making a Critical Error
Making an error is pretty much prevailing in the cosmos of medical care, and the ICUs are yet to avoid them entirely. For instance, on average, almost 1.7 million decisive blunders occur amongst critically ill patients. As per a John Hopkins study, almost 250,000 people lose their life due to this reason. Usually, the prime reason behind such metrics is the lack of concentration of the doctors, which comes from extreme fatigue. Nevertheless, this issue can be solved with the implementation of a telemedicine environment. With it, the physicians can collaborate and double-check the vitals of a critical patient before medicating them. This way, it would be much easier for them to cover up a large portion of their patients within a small amount of time. A report suggests that almost 26% more people would survive an ICU journey with Tele-ICU’s assistance.
Offering Better Diagnosis
Like the common medical errors, diagnostic mistakes have also become quite prevalent in healthcare systems these days. As per a survey, almost 40,000 – 80,000 people die due to this reason. Diagnostic errors are also quite common in autopsies (around 10%-20%). However, the frequency of such blunders can be taken care of with telemedicine. Owing to its quick transmission system, the doctors can understand the issue of the patient pretty quickly. Hence, it can be an ideal segment of a collaborative network during neurologic emergencies, as most diagnostic errors usually occur in the neurology department. Besides, with it, the doctors can monitor their patients in real-time as well. It will help them to observe the critical moments of critically ill people and assist them instantly.
Quicker and Efficient Treatment
All-in-all, Tele-ICU improves conventional medical treatment procedures to a massive extent. Hence, in a way, it also quickens the overall speed of treating patients as well. According to a report, a doctor can discharge their patient almost 15% faster than the usual rate with telemedicine. Moreover, the system can also increase the release rate from the ICU by 20%. The hospitalization survival rate will also increase due to implementing a Tele-ICU environment.
CONCLUSION
The Tele-ICU system was first introduced as a proactive care module to offer more support to the medical community. However, it has become crucial to the doctors over the years and helped them treat much more profoundly. Anyways, like any other raw scientific conception, it still has its flaws. Nonetheless, they are not anything significant. Therefore, a professional or experienced doctor can cover up for its issues with their efficiency. In any case, we will still be hoping for the system to develop further and turn into an impeccable entity quickly. Optimistically, it will become the pinnacle of the modern healthcare system shortly.
