IS BLENDED CARE THE NEW NORMAL? In health, Blended Care refers to a mixture of online appointments and in-person treatment for a range of health needs. Its underpinning logic is that quality healthcare services can be made more accessible by delivering at least part of a care plan or service online, to help improve patients’ health in a way that is local and helpful for them.
50 | HEALTH MATTERS WINTER 2021
Blended Care helps families, individuals and carers Living with cancer When one of your three children has a serious health condition it affects the daily life of the whole family. For Tom and his family being able to do a few of the many hospital appointments needed online has been a game changer. Being able to attend even one or two online appointments from home, means he can help Maria more with the regular health consultations. In this way Tom can manage online consultations within his work day without having to take more unpaid leave. Also he gets to feel more hands-on involved with Kayla’s treatment plan and spend more time with her himself. Rural community Jan loves living in an idyllic part of Ireland with a close community. One downside is you can have to travel long distances when you’re not
well. As part of her treatment plan Jan is able to access expert medical opinion for some appointments online which saves her two trips to Dublin each month Parent is ill Juggling family life, work-life, life-life is always a bit tricky, now Sue, can have some of her regular health support appointments and consultations online, which helps the whole family. New baby Fiona had gestational diabetes, managing her condition with some of her scheduled appointments online resulted in greater access and more frequent appointments than would have been possible with only face-to-face. It was also ideal for the group work classes. Fiona is now in full health, helped by receiving excellent care when she needed it.
