What is Telemedicine?
Telemedicine is the modern application of technology. It is used to remove barriers between patients and physicians. Telemedicine serves as a mediator to remove the distance between patient and physician. In the current pandemic situation, this approach has proved to be quite effective and reliable. There are innumerable benefits of telemedicine that you can observe in evolving global scenarios.
Mode of Telemedicine
Telemedicine can be provided by services enlisted below:
- Desktop Computer
- Audiovisual Devices
- Video Conferencing
- Mobile Phone
Benefits of Telemedicine
Let us go through the benefits of telemedicine to improve understanding of this service.
The latest research shows that telemedicine care saves almost 19% of the cost as compared to hospitalized care. Patients acquiring this facility have minimum to no length of stay at the hospital that minimizes several expenditures. In addition to that, adjunct expenses are also reduced. For instance, travelling, child-care, etc. Similarly, this technique is equally beneficial for doctors. Clearly, they don’t need to hire more people for management and can work in minimal area. So, they don’t have to pay excessive salaries, utility bills, and rent.
2. Patient Privacy
As we know, some patients are introverted; they may feel hesitant to discuss their issues during in-personal meetings. Therefore, they can discuss their concerns in detail by such sessions. With this in mind, the patient may feel less anxious as their data is relatively secure and cannot be misused.
3. Ease of Access
Patients can directly contact doctors without taking any off from their work. As we know that time is money; patient counselling in this way can save time and money.
4. Geriatric Health-Care
Geriatric care refers to the treatment of elderly patients. Such patients often need to visit the doctor for a monthly checkup. In fact, regular hospital visit for such patients is often troublesome. They can receive guidelines at their ease and don’t need to travel.
5. Reduction in Nosocomial Infections
Nosocomial infections are new infections that people may acquire from the hospital. Generally, the patient may contract a disease from the hospital environment, medical equipment, or hospital staff. Besides, some patients may have a weak immune system due to underlying health conditions such as hypertension, lupus, arthritis, etc. Such a group of patients can take benefits of telemedicine.
6. Timely Control of Disease
In general, it is difficult for patients to get an appointment for outpatient care. Thus, delay in some conditions may aggravate the ailment. Moreover, considering telemedicine may help to start therapy timely and control the onset of disease at an early level.
7. Expert Advice
In some cases, telemedicine proves to be extremely beneficial when the quick resolution to a critical ailment is required. Not only the doctors can use telemedicine software but also can seek advice from other colleagues for deciding safe and effective treatment strategies for the patient. They can easily connect via telemedicine software and discuss the case.
8. Containment of Infectious Disease
Currently, our globe is facing havoc due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, hospital staff – doctors, nurses, and technicians have contracted the virus. The patients who suffer from mild symptoms should preferably select a telemedicine service to contain viruses. Consequently, it can minimize the community spread of the virus.
9. Regular Follow-ups
Doctors can easily access patients for follow-up after initial therapy by using this facility. It can help the patient to achieve quick recovery. However, in regular hospital visits, patients may get lazy and escape follow-ups.
10. Improved Quality of Life
In particular, telemedicine can improve the quality of life for patients suffering from physical and mental challenges. In that case, direct and regular interaction with doctors can help to mitigate diseases and enhancing longevity.
11. Reduction in Co-Morbidity
Co-morbidity means the occurrence of multiple diseases in one person. Unsupervised health conditions may overlap and lead to comorbid situations, such as persistent hypertension leading to cardiac arrest. Thus, using telemedicine services can control the existing disease and prevent further damage.
Disadvantages of Telemedicine
1. Emergency Medical Care
Briefly, doctors cannot provide emergency life-saving therapies and laboratory examinations via telemedicine.
2. Medical Bill Reimbursement
Some companies do not refund bills paid for online consultation.
3. Fewer Job Opportunities
It may lead to joblessness as face-to-face appointments would be lesser. People will consider taking online assistance.
4. Risk of Fault
The slow speed of internet servers, distorted communication, and low-quality documentation such as X-rays, lab reports may increase the risk of fault in the treatment decision.
Challenges in using Telemedicine
- Technical Training of Staff
- 24/7 emergency services
- End-to-end Encrypted Software
- Stable Internet Connection
- Insurance Coverage
In short, telemedicine is the integration of healthcare facilities with modern technology. Undoubtedly, it can help to cater to the needs of patients at their pace and comfort zone.
Indeed, the telemedicine benefits mentioned above depict its usefulness. However, if we want to incorporate, then specialized technical skills and programming are prerequisites. Moreover, the proper knowledge of computers, laptops, and mobile is mandatory to utilize this service. For instance, the information record of the patient shall be clear and adequately scanned to avoid ambiguity.
However, for emergency and critical cases, it is preferable to visit the hospital immediately.
BY SAMEEN ZIA (Pharm-D)