Everything you need to know about Telemedicine

The outbreak of Covid-19 saw a rapid rise in virtual health care solutions. In view of the pandemic, every health care unit across the globe is striving to provide safe healthcare solutions to reduce the spread of the virus. Pandemic paved a way to encourage video consultations, and this is considered the future of healthcare. Telemedicine solutions have become a game-changer in the online medical platform. It has helped a large group of population to adopt telemedicine to ease their consultation process. While social distancing and lockdown are strictly imposed in almost every country globally, telemedicine allowed remote consultation with doctors.

The prevalence of telemedicine is significantly increasing over the past few years. The rapid adoption of advanced technologies and digital support is allowing the provision of seamless services through telemedicine. Medical support with telemedicine services enables the physician to provide safe and quality services with efficient healthcare delivery. Sometimes, Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and telemedicine are combined to provide health care. Virtual care is an effective alternative for older individuals who are unable to commute to a hospital.

Telemedicine is the most advanced option to provide health care support virtually. With the help of advanced telecommunication technology, the physicians and clinical staff offer health services to the patients at a distance. Telemedicine uses a combination of innovative technologies to evaluate a patient’s condition. This allows a physician to prescribe necessary treatment from a distance without an in-person consultation. Disease-related symptoms like common fever, cough and cold, headache, muscle aches etc., do not require diagnostic procedures and can be addressed through a virtual consultation.

Telemedicine is easily accessible and cost-effective both to the patients as well as doctors. It helps the patients residing in rural locations to get access to a physician and get their health problems addressed virtually. RPM uses medical devices that capture the vitals readings, which are helpful to analyse the patient’s condition during a consultation with a doctor. Telemedicine is a healthcare innovation that is greatly expanding because of its convenience, cost-saving and other benefits.

Telemedicine is a simple practice to implement for doctor’s consultation. The medical practitioner or a doctor provides consultation via video call. Most hospitals and big healthcare organisations have their own mobile apps where a patient can book a prior appointment for teleconsultation. Various companies help healthcare providers with simple and secure health management solutions for a hassle-free consultation. The calls are scheduled, and the patients will receive a reminder message on their mobile.

The patients need to have basic operational knowledge to access video consultation with a doctor. Telemedicine can be conducted from a mobile, laptop, or computer with a camera. However, most people feel mobile as it is handy to access. Telemedicine software captures the data from the live consultation call with a doctor and stores the data for future use and follow-up consultations. Today, telemedicine has become the most possible and most accessible way to deliver health care to people living in remote areas.

Pros

Telemedicine is an excellent option for patients who wish to see a physician without visiting a hospital. Some of the benefits of telemedicine are:

Cuts commute costs: With telemedicine, patients can avoid spending an amount on transport and long travel hours in the traffic.

No waiting time: Patients need to spend long waiting time at clinics or hospitals. In case of the telemedicine, there is a fixed scheduled time where patients can be available according to their schedule.

Limits spread of infection: Telemedicine reduces the spread of infections if the patient carries a contagious disease.

Eldercare: Video consultations are an effective health management solution for older adults who find it difficult to move and commute to the hospital.

No off from work: Telemedicine is the best option for working individuals. They can consult a doctor without taking a day off from their work.

Quick access: Telemedicine provides quick access to consult a doctor in emergencies where a patient needs immediate medical attention.

Preventive care: Telemedicine makes it easier to get a preventive care suggestion from a doctor, which helps improve an individual’s overall health and avoids the risk of developing chronic health conditions.

Cons

Although telemedicine carries certain drawbacks, virtual video visits are highly encouraged compared to in-person hospital visits.

Technical glitches: In some instances, poor internet connectivity and telecommunication systems can interrupt the video consultation.

Inadequate analysis: Telemedicine holds a drawback when it comes to physical examination. It does not provide necessary information for the conditions where a live physical examination is needed, such as a skin disease, visible tumour analysis etc.

Data privacy: Telemedicine data can be accessed by anyone if they have access credentials. In such cases, there are chances that the confidentiality of the medical data can be leaked.