Telemedicine is here to stay

The internet has brought the world closer than expected. The current pandemic has made people utilize the technologies around them to its fullest. Virtual classrooms, remote working, virtual workouts, digital health tracker and then the biggest of them all telemedicine. The process makes the communication between the patient and healthcare professionals practical. By the time a patient takes an appointment, travels to the hospital and waits in line to see the doctor, he or she can utilize the telemedicine services available on different mediums and take necessary action as diagnosed.

While certain health issues can be discussed over a call or via chats, laptop / mobile screens now act as eyes for the physicians where a patient is sharing information with them in real time. Wearable / portable medical devices make it possible to store and share correct readings and medical data as needed by the doctors for further diagnosis of the problem. All this information allows the treatment to commence faster and be more instantaneous. It also allows doctors to connect and consult with senior specialists for something as complex as a surgery or as simple as a training program.

Telemedicine is not new, according to an article published in the Lancet in the year 1879, unnecessary visits to the office could be avoided by using the telephone. 140 years after the article being published, the U.S. telemedicine market is valued around $19.5 billion and is expected to grow by 18.5 percent CAGR from 2019 to 2025. If that’s not all the covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the greatest plus point of telemedicine, a patient receiving proper diagnosis and treatment by health care professionals without having to expose themselves to the virus. Time and resource are of utmost importance when it comes to healthcare, telemedicine saves you both and not just that, it makes medical help accessible to people living even in the most remote parts of the country, rather world. We all are aware of the one main factor when it comes to health and medical wellbeing, “time” and telemedicine has taken a steadfast approach on and for the same.

Come to think of it the benefits of telemedicine are huge, right from time and money spent on transportation to making sure one does not skip work or take unpaid leaves. One of the biggest beneficiaries of this services are the elderly who otherwise are dependent on someone or the other to take them to the clinic or hospital for a regular health checkup or consultation. Senior care or elder care as its generally know also becomes easier and efficient with telemedicine services.

You can experience the benefits as mentioned through our Telemedicine solutions. BettrAi also offers a wide variety of solutions such as RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring) biometric devices, Fall detection for elderly and telehealth to name a few.

Telemedicine can be briefly classified into types based on the approach and the process that is followed for sharing of information.

mHealth or mobile health is the process of using mobile devices like phones, tablets or any wireless device for reading, storing and sharing of medical data. There are many mHealth applications that users can install on their devices and keep a track of their health. Though most apps recommend that a user consult his/her physician or doctor alongside using the application.

Store and forward method capture either images, videos, messages or other data related to one’s health, store it in the system and then sends it to the medical service provider through secure channels. This information then gets interpreted and the patients receives the recommend solution or diagnosis. This, though effective is not a real time process.

RPM has been seeing a steady rise in its usage. This form of telemedicine allows healthcare professionals to monitor patients remotely. These are mostly aging patients who are living in their homes. Using tools such as patient portals, smart devices or portable medical devices a doctor / physician can collect and share information related to the health of the patient. There are real time monitoring devices that can share vital medical information such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose levels etc. of the patient with the professionals who in turn respond with the necessary adjustments towards the patient’s health and betterment.

Live telemedicine is yet another type that caters to the real time communication of the patient and physicians via video conferences or phone calls. Based on the patient’s medical data and reports, physicians provide live consultation and assessments. Majority of the service providers make sure that the communication is HIPPA compliant for keeping the patient’s health information secure and safe.

Reports from the American Hospital Association state that more than 50% of the hospitals in America have implemented remote monitoring systems. Around seventy six percent of the hospitals in US are communicating with patients and consulting practitioners using either video services or similar technologies. If this does not make you try out telemedicine then read this. Journal of the American Informatics Association published that the NYU Langone Health witnessed a 683 percent rise in its urgent virtual care visits while the nonurgent virtual care visits saw a phenomenal 4,345 percent rise. This was between the 2nd of March 2020 and 14th of April 2020.
So, telemedicine is on a path to prove that pandemic or no pandemic technology has already paved the way for healthcare and medical industry. With people of all age groups and backgrounds readily adapting to technology for day-to-day chores and services its now clear that medical innovators and service providers also taking efforts to bridge the current gaps and issues with telemedicine.

Telemedicine has helped empower medical professionals and practitioners in poorly developed areas of the world to receive correct and up to date knowledge from their counterparts working at top notch medical facilities. Thanks to the advancements in information technology and telecommunications.

All in all, the world is getting closer and telemedicine has found a permanent abode.