Hospice of Chattanooga expands "Telehealth" services to those needing support for hospice care

Hospice of Chattanooga expands "Telehealth" services to those needing support for hospice care

All ... it's just as well, though ... since this gambit broke out back in march during the sales are t greg phelps and dr. phelps is with leo health system, which i the parent company of hospice of chattanooga.

First of all, dr. greg phelps good morning morning glad to be with you some of the technology we have seen medically speaking over the pas few years has just been really really are present the topic were ever talk about lately thi morning is telehealth how using a phone or a computer can help you in all aspects of your medical life, but i never would've thought that this included palliative or end-of- life care.

Phyllis and will is you probably know, there were fairly stringent restrictions o telehealth on the federal government would only allow it for follow-up visits for extremely rural patients and leo and hospice of chattanooga covers 8000 mi.2 in three state so we do have some very rural patients, but on that was the only place telehealth could be used now on with crisis, they suddenly opened the door way for us to be able to do telehealth with our patients.

Interestingl, the builder administration allowed on telehealth but then didn't include hospice and palliative care.

In the initial opening of the doors we had waited another week before that got clarified to do that but telehealth specifically require that you have both audio and video through either a smart phone, computer or other device such as a tablet and so that way we can see the patient.

We can talk.

The patient is not just physicians.

We can use our chaplains are social workers can then talk with the patients and actually be much more efficient because they don't have the miles in between to se the patients so was exactly wha telehealth include its telehealth.

It is best can include instruments that can be linked to a computer to like an electronic stethoscope to liste to a patient on or an electroni otoscope to look in the patient's years.

We are quite that far.

But we can fulfill the basic requirement which is to b able to see or hear the patient, let me ask you this.

A lot of the older folks who made the in need of relative care or hospic care may not be familiar with, or even have a smart phone like this.

What about them.

Are you able to talk with them just using a regular phone line we can.

There are different set of billing codes to do that on but yes we did give us permission to be able to talk to the phone fo exactly the reasons you talked about being the elderly and the people who are not tech savvy ... is this for financially efficient using telehealth ... it is on but i would say that nothing really substitutes with the ability to actually look see and touch the patient.

As you probably know the statistics sa that 70% of our communication i nonverbal on so were not doing it for financial reasons.

I promise you, but it is a way for us to be able to continue to care for patients during this unprecedented emergency laws play in this great question.

The hippo was very stringent on tha was why you couldn't use new or face time patients actually are.

We use a hipaa compliant plat orman called sins.

The armpit all the information goes throug to keep it encrypt.

That said, the trumpet ministration is als loosened the hippo requirements on to as long as you tell the patient that this may not be a secure connection on you can.

You don't have to use that kind of computer intermediary, but we think it's much better to keep her patient privacy ... still have a minute or so left telling the important take away message that our viewers need to leave this set ... alright i would say that the thing that they need to know most uses.

It is possible to ge here without having to leave th home.

It is possible to get care that can be done through a smar phone or even regular phone on the used to be, and even initia visits we can do those now and this is been a revolution in ho we can continue care.

The other complementary parties.

We can also do the prescribing of one part you have to do is hand the patient a prescription particularly was a controlled substance and now we can do that over computers to self brave new world.

I didn't think i was going to live long enough to se but is very exciting to be part of it is amazing what technology has allowed us to do the work that you and your team at hospice of chattanooga.

Do day in and day out is beyond compare.

Thank you so much.

Wel, thank you want to find out more information about how telehealth can help one get in touch with the folks at hospice of chattanooga.

They will be able to fill you with can check out their website.

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