Today’s virtual care network represents a relatively new and extremely convenient method in common medical practice. So, what exactly is a VCN, and how does it work? Here’s the scoop on this emerging methodology in medicine.
Telehealth
At the root of every virtual care network is a concept referred to as virtual care, or telehealth. As these terms would outwardly suggest, they are about health care in a virtual or distance format. Supposing you are a patient in need of services, this is how it works.
Suppose you have a sinus infection. You know what it is as you’re quite familiar from past encounters with this dreadful ill. Rather than jockeying for position with countless others in scheduling an in-person doctor appointment within a useful time period, you choose to take the telehealth route. Here, you would simply go online, connect to a real, practicing doctor, and get a teleconsultation. Now you are able to get the immediate advice and prescription service you needed to begin with.
Network of Partners
Virtual care networks are actual groups of affiliated, likeminded practitioners who collectively operate in this way. Such doctors and practices typically see a mix of distance as well as in-person patients. Some however, do operate exclusively in an online format. This is also referred to as a telehealth network.
Benefits
So, what are the benefits of such a model of medical practice? Is it really a viable alternative? As it turns out, there are many benefits to this approach – some obvious and some a little less so.
– Telehealth acts as a valuable extension of accessibility to healthcare for those in rural areas and for those with other obstacles in obtaining care.
– Hospital admissions and readmissions are substantially reduced.
– VCNs relieve the burden of the healthcare system in monitoring post-surgical and other extended care patients and situations.
– An overall increase in patients serviced by the entire healthcare system is seen when VCNs are present.
– An entirely new healthcare market and revenue stream manifests.
– Telehealth programs and VCNs are uniquely qualified to take advantage of valuable incentives such as the HITECH Act.
Obstacles
While at first glance, the whole premise of VCNs and telehealth programs appears to be a resoundingly effective addition to the healthcare system, there are various critics of its aligns. Much of the reservation regarding telehealth application is that of misdiagnoses and malpractice. The specific concern is that patients being diagnosed in a distance format as opposed to a hands-on, in-person one are much more suspect to misdiagnoses and misplaced treatments.
In fact, due to some such acknowledged limitations, such virtual care services do only currently address minor, common, and non-advanced, non-emergency medical situations. As a result of this fact and the general system-wide attachments to the traditional, in-person method alone, many medical practices and even insurance companies have been slow to get on board with virtual care. Despite this, though, growth has continued in telehealth and its future place in the market is widely considered to be highly likely.
VCNs truly show promise and provide some valuable relief to an already burdened healthcare system. While they are certainly not complete alternatives to traditional, in-person healthcare services, they have provided a valuable complement so far. These are the basics of telehealth and the virtual care network today.
