Reducing Hospital Stays to Zero: The Role of Telehealth in Burn Care
Jeremy Bishay1, Isobel Yeap1, Aruna Wijewardana1, Bishoy Soliman1, 1Severe Burns Injury Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW, Australia
Abstract
Purpose:
Telehealth has emerged as an effective solution for delivering remote medical care to burns patients. A growing body of evidence indicates that telehealth can alleviate the time and financial burden experienced by these patients.
Methodology:
A systematic review of articles relating to the benefits of telehealth in burns patients was conducted. A total of 12 studies were identified.
Results:
A review of the literature demonstrates that telehealth can significantly reduce hospitalisation time for burn patients (1). In addition, telehealth plays a crucial role in providing patients with access to medical care, particularly those living in rural or remote areas, eliminating the requirement for costly and time-consuming travel to medical facilities (1). Moreover, the use of instant visual communication enables burn centres to extend their expertise to peripheral hospitals with limited access to burn care. By evaluating transmitted images, significant modifications can be made including appropriately deferring intubation, adjusting fluid resuscitation rates, altering the route and timing of referral and preventing unnecessary long distance patient transfers (1). Remarkably, telehealth brings about significant cost savings for both patients and healthcare providers. An evaluation of a telepediatric burns service in Queensland reported net savings of $600 000 over a 5-year period (1). Furthermore, burn patients receiving telehealth services consistently express high levels of satisfaction with an evaluation reporting a satisfaction rate of 98% among these patients (1).
Conclusion:
Telehealth represents an effective and cost-efficient solution for providing medical care to patients with burns. By reducing hospital stays and improving access to care, telehealth can have a significant impact on patient outcomes.
References:
(1) Garcia-Diaz, A, Vilardell-Roig, L, Novillo-Ortiz, D, Gacto-Sanchez, P, Pereyra-Rodriguez, J, Saigi-Rubio, F, N 2023, ‘Utility of Telehealth Platforms Applied to Burns Management: A Systematic Review’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 3161
Biography
Jeremy Bishay is a Craniofacial Surgery Research Fellow at Prince of Wales Hospital with a keen interest in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery