Telehealth Helps Fight the Leading Cause of Death in the U.S.
Heart Disease Impacts Roughly 1.27 Million People Nationwide, Telehealth Helps Provide Needed Cardiac Care.
In February we acknowledge American Heart Month and recognize the impact heart disease has as the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one out of every five deaths. Telehealth is a tool that can help increase cardiac monitoring capabilities, improve patient engagement and appointment attendance, and help reduce provider burnout.
This disease, which impacts around 695,000 patients nationwide, disproportionately affects rural and communities of color. Virtual health care is proven to increase access for these populations, helping to address the health care gap that they face and provide access to essential, specialized care.
Telehealth allows cardiovascular disease patients to receive access in the comfort of their home, for patients that require monitoring for concerns like blood pressure changes, telehealth keeps them from needing to drive to attend in-person appointments. Patients appreciate the ease and convenience of virtual care to monitor existing conditions, one cardio care patient highlighted these benefits saying, “What struck me as amazing was the quality of the picture on the screen. It’s like a very high-definition picture that you’d be hard-pressed to find in today’s TVs. It’s very crisp, clear, almost like it’s real,” the patient noted. “It saved me a long drive. It’s a real traffic mess in Portland.”
Research published by the National Library of Medicine also found that telehealth interventions are a successful complement to in-person care for hypertension and CVD-related outcomes such as blood pressure control, hospitalizations, and mortality. This emphasizes that telehealth is a viable option for cardiac treatment for care needs like blood pressure monitoring and cardiovascular disease management.
Telehealth also changes the game for hospital systems and providers, “It’s really an extension of us,” says cardio-oncologist Dr. Wissam Abdallah. “Aside from physically touching patients, we can pretty much do everything we would need to do to evaluate these patients.”
To address this leading cause of death in the nation, advances in cardiac care must be supported. We urge Congress to enable the use of telehealth for heart disease by creating permanent protections for virtual care access now.
Learn more about how Congress can act to permanently protect telehealth access HERE.
ABOUT TELEHEALTH ACCESS FOR AMERICA
Telehealth Access for America (TAFA) is a public education campaign supported by leaders in health care committed to better care, expanded patient choice, and protecting access to critical telehealth services. Learn more and take action today at www.telehealthaccessforamerica.org.