Blog

In this series of blogs, Translating Healthcare, we will highlight and break down the meaning of phrases and terminology that are increasingly used, but not always widely understood. Today, we'll be unpacking the definitions of synchronous and asynchronous and examples of how they apply to the medical world. 

Synchronous vs Asynchronous

On a basic level it might be clear that these two words refer to opposing things and have something to do with time… but how does their meaning they apply to healthcare?

Success comes down to value. Value, ultimately, for your patients which can be translated into dollars and cents and happy customers. Given the many healthcare initiatives hospitals can proceed with, why choose second opinions? And if you do, how do you measure the success of that program? 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the value proposition of a virtual or ‘Digitally Enabled’ healthcare program was abundantly clear. Enabling patients and even healthcare workers to stay home when and where possible freed up essential space in hospitals and other facilities and reduced the risk of transmission.

If you are reading this, you are likely engaged in an initiative to drive healthcare innovation forward. However, it's quite possible you have run into some challenges around how to handle the information that is required to get a full picture of a patient’s health and history. Without effective ways of managing health information, patients are unable to access the care that they need. So, how can we manage patient health information in an efficient way?

Innovative healthcare technology is changing how care is delivered for patients worldwide, particularly within specialty care. Expertise and other services can be exchanged far beyond the physical walls of the institution. Physicians with their own practices and rural hospitals that may not have certain specialists attending full time still need to be able to ensure that their patients can be seen, remotely or otherwise, by a specialist who can lend their expertise. Even in practices that may have a specialist in their particular diagnosis, patients are increasingly seeking out second opinions from physicians all over the world to confirm their diagnosis or get a new perspective. However, how can we ensure that the receiving physician has all of the information necessary to provide a thorough and accurate diagnosis regardless of whether they physically see the patient or not?

As I am sure you know, your staff are an essential component of your healthcare organization. They bring comfort to your patients, efficiency to your process, and growth to your business as a whole, enabling you to reach more patients in increasingly innovative and life changing ways. So when you are setting up a remote second opinion service, you need to consider how to hire (or choose from within your existing staff) the right team. Since you are here, you likely are wondering what kind of staff do you need to offer remote second opinions, and more specifically, should you hire a dedicated administrator for your remote second opinion program?