Everything you need to know about telemedicine

What are the advantages of telemedicine?

In principle, telemedicine is the ideal solution for any and all remote care needs. As such, it is immensely beneficial to those in need in comparison to traditional healthcare provisions. However, despite its accessibility and flexibility, it is unwise to think that telemedicine is a complete solution to the shortcomings of the healthcare sector.

Though telemedicine has its limitations, it also bridges several gaps that hinder the existing healthcare infrastructure. To shed some light on this, here are a few advantages of telemedicine.

1. Telemedicine reduces the need for travel. This saves time and makes it much easier for patients to access care in a timely manner.
2. Telemedicine helps patients maintain follow-up appointments and decreases cancellations. As such, healthcare professionals see an improvement in treatment outcomes and an increase in revenues.
3. Telemedicine enables cross consultation. For individuals who rely on family doctors, a specialist’s medical opinion can be immensely beneficial. Telemedicine provisions encourage this practice, which ultimately results in a higher standard of care.
4. Telemedicine makes healthcare accessible to rural areas of the country where medical care isn’t attainable or where underdeveloped infrastructure poses problems. Telemedicine thus eliminates the problem faced by both the afflicted as well as the medical practitioner.
5. Telemedicine services provide a higher level of safety during a pandemic. Due to its reliance on electronic communication, telemedicine helps keep cross infection in control. In fact, this advantage is particularly relevant to those with suppressed or weakened immune systems as a physical clinic visit could be detrimental.
6. Telemedicine helps the disabled, chronically-ill and elderly gain easy access to medical care.
7. Telemedicine provisions can ensure timely preventive care services. As such, this can help communities stay healthier for longer.
8. Telemedicine enables remote monitoring and patient engagement. This is particularly important for those suffering from lifestyle diseases and chronic health conditions. It improves the patient’s health proactively while still cutting the medical costs.

Are there different types of telemedicine services?

There 3 main types of telemedicine services, which are as follows.

1. Interactive Medicine: This enables patients and physicians to communicate in real-time. Here, consultations may be conducted over the phone or via video call. This involves an assessment of the medical history, psychiatric evaluations and more, as needed.
2. Store and Forward Telemedicine: This improves medication management and reduces redundancies and repeat testing. Here, providers share patient information with a specialists in another location by digitally transferring patient records.
3. Remote Patient Monitoring Telemedicine: This provides medical care to areas with no other means of healthcare. Here, practitioners monitor their patients with help of medical devices. These transmit crucial patient data such as vital signs to specialists so that treatment can be administered as needed.

What is the difference between telemedicine and telehealth?

The debate over the difference between telemedicine and telehealth mainly stems from the difference in their definitions. As mentioned earlier, telemedicine is simply the vehicle through which healthcare is made accessible to the public. On the other hand, telehealth covers non-clinical events, which include:

• General health services
• Administrative meetings
• Public health services
• Continuing medical education (CME)
• Physician training