Providing Care During the Pandemic
In a KFF Tracking Poll conducted in mid-July, over half (53%) of U.S. adults reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus. This is significantly higher than the 32% reported in KFF’s March 2020 polling. Due to worry and stress over the pandemic, many adults also reported negative impacts on their mental health and well-being including:
- Difficulty sleeping (36%)
- Difficulty eating (32%)
- Increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12%)
- Worsening chronic conditions (12%)
Job loss and isolation may compound the situation faced by many during this challenging time. As Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director of NIMH, recently shared, “We are all feeling uncertain about what could happen in the coming weeks, as we hope to slow the spread of this pandemic. Feelings of anxiety and uncertainty are completely normal during times like this… Now imagine you are facing this uncertainty and have a mental illness. How much more challenging must it be to navigate this uncertainty? While we all are concerned about the future, for those with anxiety disorders, worry may be all-consuming.”
Expanding Access to Providers
Removing the physical barrier between patients and mental/behavioral health providers helps patients continue receive the care and expertise they need during the current pandemic. Telehealth can help drive better outcomes for patients and improved satisfaction for patients, their family caregivers, and their providers by:
- Minimizing care deferrals during the pandemic
- Delivering greater efficiencies with a more convenient provision of care
- Growing one’s practice and gaining an additional revenue stream by attracting new patients
- Providing better continuity of care for high-risk patient populations
- Decreasing readmissions by addressing gaps in care
- Driving loyalty and trust amongst patients, their family caregivers, and their community
With SynziMD, one can conduct virtual visits with patients who prefer a more convenient method for their appointment or are anxious about in-person visits during the pandemic. Multiple participants can be brought into the video call including colleagues, specialists, home health clinicians, a medically certified interpreter, and the family caregiver. Patients can use bidirectional communication to quickly access their providers with questions or in a time of need. Visits to the ER and rehospitalizations can be minimized as patients receive the support they need, when they need it most.
Providers can also use SynziMD’s platform to send patients a cadence of scheduled communications via email or text. Messaging can be customized to the patient’s condition, medication regimen, recommended coping strategies, and language preference. More frequent touchpoints – whether via virtual visits or messaging – improves patient satisfaction and outcomes while evolving the delivery of higher quality and more timely care and support.