Telemedicine, the future for long-distance consultations that also helps people with low mobility

The use of Telemedicine in healthcare

woman sitting on brown wooden chair while using silver laptop computer in room

Photo: Brooke Cagle

The term telemedicine essentially means being able to provide patients with remote clinical services, such as diagnosis and monitoring. In the world during the global pandemic, we have seen how devastating the effects of overcrowded hospitals and clinical centers can be for patients and the entire healthcare system. Therefore, telemedicine and the use of digital services have since then been on the rise. The full benefits are yet to be explored and in this article, we are going to cover how telemedicine can help with long-distance consultations and especially how it helps people with low mobility.

Comfort and convenience as the most important benefit of the Telemedicine

A lot of health organizations are expanding their outreach by providing more virtual options for their patients when it comes to consultations and scheduling. Telemedicine also falls under this category. Essentially, more clients are allowing their patients to see their doctors virtually for a consultation or book their appointments with the help of many different digital tools and services.

One of the main advantages that telemedicine can offer is convenience. Being able to quickly and efficiently communicate with your doctor virtually means not having to travel to your health clinic in person. You can connect with your doctor from the comfort of your own home. This is an incredible benefit for all those living in remote areas as well. This way, health clinics can extend their reach to areas where they normally could not. In addition to this, those patients with low mobility can comfortably communicate with their doctors using telemedicine. Furthermore, virtual visits also enable clinics to receive more patients, especially during busy periods.

Primary care and chronic condition management are a lot easier

Telemedicine makes it a lot easier to connect with your doctor or nurse practitioner. Some systems of telemedicine can also be set up so that new patients can get an appointment with the next available practitioner, which can save time. Furthermore, not everyone has an ongoing relationship with a particular doctor that they can call on a phone at any time. Online medical networks offer round-the-clock access to all kinds of specialists.

At-home monitoring tools and services can be used where patients can track their own conditions, and, more importantly, transmit readings to medical professionals that can signal new symptoms, worsening health, and potential emergencies. This can be lifesaving for people with chronic diseases.

Control of infectious illness

During the global pandemic of 2020, many clinics have seen an enormous increase in the number of patients. However, simultaneously, there have been many missed or canceled medical appointments as well. All of this has negatively impacted the entire healthcare system. However, with the use of telemedicine, both clinics and patients have immediately seen many benefits. To help prevent the spread of infectious diseases, clinics can employ telemedicine services and doctors can use telehealth appointments to prescreen patients for possible infectious diseases. In addition to this, it saves sick people from having to come into the office. Basically, telemedicine can offer less exposure to all kinds of germs and infectious diseases which is extremely important for those who are at risk because they already have medical conditions, or for pregnant, elderly, or immunocompromised.

The different forms of telemedicine

Telehealth is a broader term that also includes telemedicine. So, what are the different approaches to telehealth, and where does telemedicine fit in? We can take a look at these three examples:

  • Synchronous communication. Allows patients and providers to communicate in real time. This can be done using telephone or live audio and video through different apps such as WhatsApp for example. This kind of communication can take place over a computer, smartphone, or tablet.

  • Asynchronous communication. This is a type of communication that enables involves “store and forward” technology. Basically, patients and providers collect data. portals and apps ease asynchronous communication through encrypted, secure messages and thus privacy is ensured.

  • Remote patient monitoring. We have mentioned a little bit about remote patient monitoring above. When it comes down to it, using various medical devices that are digital, enables healthcare providers to monitor a patient’s clinical measurements.

Telemedicine is basically a narrower term of telehealth referring to the ability of healthcare providers to meet with patients remotely via telephone or video.

How does telemedicine work?

Nowadays, there are many different platforms and means of digital communication. With so many apps and software programs to choose from, there are truly many solutions to how patients and doctors can communicate. Telemedicine covers many different interactions from SMS appointment reminders (via texts), offers online forms, facilitates patient scheduling, and enables voice and video calling.

To start the process, a patient will simply need to connect to an online portal established by the health clinic. There, the patient provides information about what symptoms they’re experiencing or what services they need. From there, the clinic will connect the patient to the right healthcare practitioner or a nurse and the rest of the healthcare journey continues.

Telemedicine helps to ensure the safe treatment of patients regardless of their location

The pandemic has affected the healthcare system in many different ways. The need for change is very obvious. With telemedicine, patients living in remote areas, those that have existing health conditions, as well as patients with low mobility, now have easy access to their healthcare providers from the comfort of their own homes. Telemedicine is designed to let patients have access to a healthcare professional in a more timely manner. Thus, long waiting times and travel fees are solved. The benefits of telemedicine are, as you can see, many. With today's technology, patients can talk with care providers in real-time, get answers to their questions, receive prescriptions, send photos and messages through encrypted chat portals, and keep track of medical records.

© Eniax - https://eniax.care