The University Hospital of North Staffordshire is set to become the first hospital in Europe to Skype with patients in hopes of reducing outpatient appointments by up to 35 percent.
UHNS said it deals with over 500,000 outpatient appointments every year, but if the Skype program is successful, they can help 180,000 people from the comfort of their homes.
“The concept of holding consultations via Skype is an interesting development, which may have clear advantages in terms of convenience for patients and doctors,” said medical advisor Dr. Barry Parker. “Seeing your doctor in a safe and convenient way in the comfort of your own home may appeal to some patients.”
The hospital got the idea from the local Kidney Patients Association, who used video conferencing for patients with regular dialysis appointments.
“By using Skype, the patient can stay at home, they don’t need to get dressed especially to go out, and can do it in blocks of two hours to fit it in around their life,” said Ken Jones, secretary of the KPA. “It’s 100,000 times better than having to go to hospital.”
Benefits of Skype
Medical professionals believe patient consultations via Skype are beneficial for numerous reasons, as they will:
- Allow doctors to visit with more patients in one day.
- Free up parking spaces and cut down on waiting times.
- Allow patients who can’t take off of work to fit the appointment into their schedule.
- Reduce outpatient visits by 180,000 a year.
- Allow doctors to do routine post op checkups with better accuracy than phone or email consultations. Seeing the affected area will allow doctors to make better recommendations.
Jane Gratton, deputy chief executive of the Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, said both employees and employers would benefit from the quick consultations.
“I think employers would support this as well as their workers,” said Gratton. “For people to spend 10 minutes talking to the doctor while at work instead of having to take the whole day off would help their company’s productivity.
Drawbacks
Despite the potential benefits, the system is anything but perfect. Some drawbacks of the Skype consultations include:
- Not all patients have access to Skype or are comfortable using the technology.
- Legal obstacles. “The medico-legal pitfalls of Skype consultations are not yet fully apparent as it is a recent development, but it is anticipated that some of these will be similar to telephone advice,” said Dr. Parker.
- Not fully sufficient. “The key issue for doctors will be to recognize when this mode of consultation is not sufficient to properly assess the patient and address the problem, and to arrange a face-to-face consultation instead,” said Dr. Parker.
Dr. Silverman comments
Dr. Parker’s final sentiment is crucial. Unfortunately ‘laying hands’ on a patient is needed in many situations.
While it will most certainly help some simpler conditions, the patients with complex problems may not be as comfortable opening up to doctors who are miles away behind a webcam. The reassuring nonverbal communication that occurs with a good bedside manner will be challenged. Hopefully people will grow more comfortable, but the elderly, the group who could benefit from this the most, are often the last to adopt or conform to new technologies.
Related source: Telegraph.co.uk