Telehealth: Remote Supervision and Guidance of Frontline Workers

Telehealth may be generally known for doctor to patient consultations, but in fact it is much broader than that. Telehealth includes digital solutions that can help aid medical professionals in a variety of scenarios – from improved training methods to virtual patient consults and care.

In today’s climate, there is more urgency around using remote guidance to leverage medical specialists and train frontline workers on-the-job. However, the need and technology existed before and will continue to exist after this current global emergency.

In time sensitive medical scenarios, accuracy and immediate guidance is critical for the well-being of the patient. But what happens when the specialist can’t be there in person to assist?

Remote expert collaboration connects those remote medical specialists with frontline workers who are at the scene.

Situation:

When a patient is need of a breathing tube, it requires a respiratory therapist to properly insert the tube. These scenarios are extremely high-risk and every minute counts. Any delay in the tube being fitted, can cause permanent damage in the patient. If a respiratory therapist cannot be on the scene in time, a front line worker is commonly walked through the procedure over the phone.

Solution:

The front line worker wears voice controlled smartglasses with remote expert software installed. The therapist calls the frontline worker from their mobile device or computer and immediately gets a first-person view of the scene. The therapist sees live visuals of the scene and can accurately guide the frontline worker through the breathing tube procedure through voice and visual annotations. The frontline worker sees the annotations on the display of the smart glasses and performs the procedure.

Outcomes:

In the situation above, the frontline worker successfully inserted the breathing tube by the virtual guidance provided by the respiratory therapists.

The general benefits of this solution can include:

• Productivity gains by leveraging medical specialists
• Accelerated training of residents and front line workers
• Reduced exposure of medical specialists to potential risks
• Preservation of personal Protective equipment (PPE)

To watch a demo of this solution view our joint webinar with Vuzix.

Written by: Tim Harader, VP Business Development at Librestream