CVS study: How the Pandemic is boosting Healthcare Consumerism
Students, in a professionally developed paper, will discuss the rationale for choosing the topic, how it will impact practice in a positive or negative manner, citing pros and cons. Include a discussion of how informatics skills and knowledge were used in the process relevance to developing the assignment. In the conclusion, provide recommendations for the future.
Preparing the paper
1. CVS study: How the pandemic is boosting healthcare consumerism
2. assignment must be a professional, scholarly prepared paper. See the guidelines for writing a professional, scholarly paper. The professional paper will have an introduction, body of paper to explain what you are doing, summary/conclusion, and at least three scholarly references.
3. Required texts may be used as references, but a minimum of three sources must be from outside of course readings.
4. All aspects of the paper must be in APA format as expressed in the current edition.
5. The paper (excluding the title page, introduction and reference page) is 4-6 pages in length.
6. Ideas and information from professional sources must be cited correctly.
7. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing.
Sample Answer
CVS Study: How the Pandemic is Boosting Healthcare Consumerism
The onset of the covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 had a significant impact on the healthcare industry and the utilization of healthcare services. As governments came up with public health advisories to control the spread of covid-19 across communities, most of such advisories involved social distancing, working from home, and avoiding public gatherings. As more and more people we are discouraged from visiting public institutions, including healthcare facilities, they sought an alternative way of obtaining health care services. The use of telehealth as a way of obtaining health care services has, therefore, significantly increased in the past one-and-a-half year as the US and various countries across the world have been scrambling to control the covid-19 pandemic. This paper explores how the Covid-19 pandemic is boosting healthcare consumerism through systems such as telehealth technology.
Increased Use of Telehealth during the Covid-19 Pandemic
According to Kichloo et al. (2020), telehealth is the use of communication technologies and digital information such as mobile devices and computers to access healthcare services and manage one’s healthcare remotely. Telehealth technologies might therefore include technologies used by healthcare service providers and technologies used by patients. Telehealth technologies include mobile phone applications, educational videos, online portals to connect health caregivers and patients, among others (Kichloo et al., 2020).
Telehealth fulfills many functions, including improving access to healthcare services among people in remote settings such as isolated communities and rural areas (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021). Telehealth also makes health care services more convenient and readily available for people with limited transportation, time, and mobility options. Telehealth also increases access to specialists while also boosting coordination of care and communication across different members of the healthcare team and patients. Finally, telehealth enhances self-management and support for various healthcare needs affecting patients (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021).
One of the most significant impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic has been greatly boosting the number of people who utilize telehealth technology to access healthcare services. According to Minemyer (2021), who conducted a study on the use of telehealth services during the pandemic, the rate of patient interest in various telehealth technologies rose by at least 57%. At least 57% of the surveyed patients reported using a form of a virtual visit with their doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The increase in the utilization of telehealth technologies has therefore been boosted by the social distancing advisories that governments have provided to populations to curb the spread of covid-19 (Minemyer, 2021). In the past one and a half years, more patients have therefore highlighted the importance of using digital tools and technology to obtain and monitor their health under the guidance of healthcare providers (Minemyer, 2021).
Impact of the Increased Use of Telehealth Technologies in the Healthcare Industry
The increased use of telehealth technologies in the healthcare industry has been greatly boosted by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the social distancing measures that many governments have taken up will have both positive and negative impacts on practice and healthcare industry as a whole. One of the main advantages of the increased use of telehealth technologies is boosting access to healthcare services in rural areas. As the population has continued to age in developed countries such as the US, the demand for healthcare services has also increased, resulting in a growing proportion of underserved populations, especially in rural areas. Therefore, most people in rural areas lack traditional access to healthcare services due to a shortage of providers in such regions (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021). Telehealth technology provides an opportunity for underserved populations such as those living in rural areas to access healthcare services and connect with providers who might be in different geographical regions. Telehealth technologies can help underserved populations receive referrals, care, and prescription from health caregivers without having to travel much (Gajarawala & Pelkowski, 2021).
The second main benefit of the increased use of telehealth technologies in healthcare is helping to reduce costs for providers and patients. Telehealth technologies help to reduce costs across the healthcare industry because the cost of telehealth services is normally less than that of in-person care. The virtual consultation costs are therefore less than in-person consultation fees, while patients also save more in terms of time through the use of telehealth technology. Telehealth helps to cut expensive costs such as emergency services, going for checkups, and other costs such as ambulatory services (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020). By utilizing telehealth services, patients can, therefore, consult clinicians first before seeking emergency services, which helps eliminate the need for urgent care for issues that clinicians can resolve effectively (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020).
The ability of telehealth technologies to reduce the spread of illness is also a major benefit that has been evident during the Covid -19 pandemic. As more people utilized telehealth technologies to obtain health care services after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, lower cases of illnesses such as flu and other infectious diseases were reported in 2020 compared to other years (Hoffman, 2020). Telehealth technologies keep sick people out of healthcare facilities. In this way, contagious patients are therefore attended to at the comfort of their home, which helps reduce the spread of given illnesses and diseases. In-person visits also increase the chances of patients picking up new viruses and germs and spreading them to other patients. Telehealth technologies allow appointments options to effectively assess patient conditions and refer patients to specialists’ treatment or prescribed medication (Hoffman, 2020).
