Setting up a meeting with your family doctor, physician, or general practitioner is no longer as straightforward as it seems. People now live a fast-paced routine as they move between a hectic schedule, making it difficult to receive quality care on the go. Fortunately, advances in technology saw the problem and found a way to bridge the gap between healthcare professionals and patients: telemedicine.
What is Telemedicine?
Telemedicine is the practice of providing remote healthcare to patients using HIPAA compliant video-conferencing tools and other technologies. It’s a modern solution that aims to connect doctors and patients without the need for face-to-face meetings or long queues in a doctor’s office.
It’s revolutionizing the medical landscape and transforming public health as it eliminates geographical limitations. By leveraging robust telecommunication technology, medical professionals can facilitate long-distance healthcare access to patients who live out of reach of clinics and hospitals.
What are Different Types of Telemedicine?
There are different types of telemedicine set by the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP). Each type plays a unique and pivotal role in providing healthcare to patients in the comfort of their own home.
This includes diagnosing diseases, offering treatments, prescribing medication, and providing general updates to improve the quality of care being given to patients. The different categories are:
Mobile Health Programs – One of the most intimate, easy-to-access, and convenient platform, mobile health programs are a growing trend as patients can stay on top of their health using mHealth apps in their tablets, smartphones, and other wearables. This includes senior care apps to diabetes management mobile systems.
Live Interactive Services – This focuses on real-time interaction using video chat, video conferencing, and other live chat features. Doctors utilize this to offer medical advice and diagnose non-urgent conditions to patients remotely.
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) – This type of telemedicine uses various forms of telecommunication technology to detect health signals, physical activities, and vitals of a patient from miles away. With 24/7 monitoring, individuals suffering from severe chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and more can have peace of mind knowing they have immediate access to help in cases of emergencies.
What are the Benefits of Telemedicine?
Benefit #1: Telemedicine Increases Access to Care
Distance often serves as a roadblock between patients and ease of access to healthcare. Telemedicine overcomes any geographic barriers, allowing patients to reach professionals, specialized providers, and quality care no matter how far the road lies ahead. Telemedicine is especially beneficial to those who live in rural areas where there are shortages of clinics and conventional hospitals.
Benefit #2: Telemedicine Reduces Healthcare Costs
In addition to increasing healthcare efficiency, telemedicine also reduces the costs of transportation and other hospital fees. Patients can expect healthcare assistance at a faster rate with 19% savings as telecommunication technology removes the need to travel from one location to another.
In Conclusion
Telemedicine is revolutionizing the healthcare industry as it removes geographical limitations, eliminates the cost of travel, and provides instant medical assistance anytime, anywhere. With more access to professionals, telemedicine can enhance traditional face-to-face medicine and improve patient engagement down the line.
If you’re looking to use telemedicine in remote patient monitoring, get in touch with us to see how we can help.