Kleinman's Meaning of Telehealth

Innovative technologies transform the way we give and receive care and thus make the world a better and healthier place. Telehealth or Telemedicine, as Elly Kleinman, Americare CEO explains, is a term used to define the technology used by doctors, nurses, and patients in long-distance healthcare. Telehealth applications allow providers to capture and share images and data outside of the healthcare facility. Remote monitoring applications on the other hand use sensors and alerts that transmit patient data to a healthcare provider. This allows the provider to monitor the patient's condition in real time and eliminates the need for frequent visits to the healthcare facilities. Chronic disease management applications can especially benefit from this. Interactive Telehealth solutions offer real-time interactions between providers and patients, using wireless, video, and remote diagnostic technologies. All these interactive apps are useful because they allow communication between providers and patients that are separated by great distances or in rural settings.

Telehealth is a cost-effective, efficient and engaging way for healthcare providers to connect with patients while offering a more convenient, real-time interaction. This remote diagnosis and treatment of patients allow healthcare providers to readily communicate and share information electronically via video, text messaging or monitoring services. With its potential to significantly enhance healthcare coordination, efficiency, and patient-centered care, Kleinman believes that Telehealth will play a vital role in the transformation of healthcare organizations.

According to Elly Kleinman, Americare Companies founder, a recent study showed that around 78% of physicians indicated that Telehealth could improve access to care and 68% thought it could improve continuity of care. The general findings of this research proved that doctors and other healthcare providers see promise in the ability of Telemedicine to improve access to care services. Just as home computers and smartphones have changed information exchange and communication worldwide, experts believe that Telehealth has the potential to change the entire practice of medicine. Although it is still in its early stage of implementation, it has shown incredible potential and has already found its use in so many areas of medicine.

Kleinman: Rural and Remote Health

People living in America’s rural and remote areas outside often have different social and economic determinants of health. These areas also have generally older populations, higher levels of health risks and higher rates of disease, chronic disease, and injury. People living here generally have less access to health services with shortages of almost all health professions. Elly Kleinman, Americare Companies CEO has been looking into this topic for some time now. His research on healthcare access in rural and remote locations has in fact proven his initial thesis, that people living in these areas are generally disadvantaged in their access to healthcare services.

This article provides a profile of the characteristics and health of people living in rural America.

Living and working in a rural and remote location can be a rewarding and challenging way of life. It can be difficult for people to access help and support for l health problems for many reasons. Health services in rural and remote areas are also very different from their city counterparts. Although facilities play a vital role in the provision of integrated health services, yet they are generally smaller than those located in urban areas. Rural and remote health services are more dependent on primary health care services, particularly those provided by General Practitioners.

On average, people living in rural areas don’t always have the same opportunities for proper health as those living in big cities. That means residents of more inaccessible areas of America are generally disadvantaged in their access to products and services, employment and educational opportunities, as well as income. Still, as Kleinman further explains, rural Americans generally have higher levels of social cohesiveness, such as higher rates of participation in volunteer work and helping in their community.

According to Elly Kleinman, rural and remote services can benefit from the modern innovative technologies, and apply these approaches in the diagnosis and care of patients, and training and expanding scopes of practice for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. Such innovations can significantly contribute towards improving the accessibility to health services and the quality of care for many rural and remote Americans.