Telemedicine has become a frequent presence in healthcare systems around the world since the COVID-19 pandemic.  New research from Perdue University shows that greater use of telemedicine in the emergency room (ER) has yielded positive results for both patients and providers alike.

The study found that the presence of telemedicine in the ER reduces the average patients’ length of stay as it facilitated smarter and more flexible resource allocation.

Preventing overcrowding

Many emergency departments around the world suffer from overcrowding, which is not only costly for hospitals but reduces the quality of care given to patients.  As such, finding ways to improve matters is of vital importance.

“The adoption of telemedicine leads to a larger reduction in ER length of stay when there is a demand surge or supply shortage,” the researchers say. “This improvement does not come at the expense of care quality or patient cost.”

The researchers then managed to replicate their findings when assessing hospital data from across the US.  They found that when telemedicine was adopted in ER, the average waiting time per patient was significantly reduced.  They believe this suggests the reduction is partly due to a reduced waiting time.

The data revealed that the number of ER visits grew by 25% between 2000 and 2015, resulting in higher financial costs, unhappier patients, and less productive doctors.  It also showed that around 76% of hospitals are using some kind of telemedicine to connect patients and providers.  This, it seems, can have a significant impact on the productivity of the ER.

“The current pandemic has shown hospitals the great promise of telemedicine application and hopefully the unexpected enrollment of such policies alongside this research can help get the process underway to help more healthcare facilities utilize this technology in ERs and elsewhere,” the researchers conclude. “Policymakers can play a role as well by reducing regulatory barriers that inhibit more expansive use of telemedicine and by creating incentives that encourage hospitals to more broadly adopt telemedicine in emergency rooms.”