Physician-to-PhysicianTeleconsults Boost Survival Rates for Liver Disease

I have blogged in the past about provider-to-provider teleconsults (see:The Need for More Research in Provider-to-Provider Telemedicine). This type of telemedicine is often overlooked or underreported. A recent article addressed how video consults have improved survival rates for liver disease patients (see:Video consults boost survival rates for liver disease patients by 54 percent). Below is an excerpt from the article:Patients of primary care physicians who participated in video consultations with liver disease specialists had a 54 percent higher survival rate than patients whose PCPs didn ’t leverage the technology, according to a new study by Michigan Medicine. The technology was used by the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System to link primary care physicians and specialists to discuss patient cases, treatment and recommendations in real time under the Specialty Care Access Network-Extension of Community Healthcare Outcome (SCAN-ECHO) program for chronic liver disease.“Improved survival in patients seen via SCAN‐ECHO suggests that this novel approach may be an effective method to improve access for selected patients with liver disease, particularly in rural and underserved populations where access to specialty care is limited,” conclude the authors of the s tudy published in the journal Hepatology.The clinical effect of this technology on outcomes is as if patients saw a liver disease specialist face to face, according to lead author Grace Su, MD.... “Pri...

Source: Lab Soft News - June 19, 2018 Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Healthcare Delivery Healthcare Innovations Healthcare Insurance Medical Research Public Health Quality of Care Telemedicine Source Type: blogs