Welcome To The Virtual Ward!  

The expression ‘virtual ward’ is trending. But is it just the expression we hear about more often, or is there a real trend? And by the way: what is a virtual ward? And what is it good for?  It is yet difficult to find one, generally accepted definition for the new phenomenon. The same phrase is used for a number of quite different solutions. For the sake of understanding, here is what we think about when we speak of virtual wards. “A virtual ward is a solution that supports patients who would otherwise be in hospital to get the acute care, remote monitoring and treatment in their own homes, with the use of digital, remote monitoring health tools relaying real-time data to the hospital. The main difference between ‘full-grown’ virtual wards and the earlier existing solutions is the available data. Virtual wards provide the same data real-time as would be available if the patient was hospitalised.” This is only possible through digital health technologies. The arsenal tailored to the patients’ condition The digital health arsenal used is dependent on the patients’ condition, but generally measures health parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and blood oxygen level monitoring besides other, condition-specific metrics. The data is displayed in real-time in the hospital, and the support staff follows it as closely as if the patient was monitored in the intensive care unit.  This is two-way communication. T...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: TMF Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Digital Health Research E-Patients Future of Medicine Health Sensors & Trackers Healthcare Policy Telemedicine & Smartphones virtual ward Source Type: blogs