Telemedicine has transformed the way people receive treatment making access to healthcare easier. It is an innovative platform that allows physicians to remotely offer medical assistance to patients in any part of the world, according to HealthIT.gov.
Telemedicine is still evolving, and we expect much more innovation in this field in the next few years. Telemedicine offers doctors and patients mutual benefits. There is a continuous drive to inform more people about telemedicine and how they can use the service.
In this regard, we will be writing about five things everyone should know about telemedicine in 2019. With this information, you can be more intentional about leveraging the advantages of telemedicine (see more advantages and disadvantages) to access quality medical assistance at any time.
Telemedicine Covers Different Specialty Areas in Medicine
Telemedicine has been widely accepted by physicians trained in different medical fields. It is possible to get medical help in the following fields such as Dermatology, Psychiatry, Gynaecology, and many other medical specialty areas.
Remote Diagnosis Via Telemedicine
It is possible for a doctor to make a diagnosis after interacting with a client and doing the necessary health evaluation via a video call.
This is one of the outstanding benefits of telemedicine. The ability to make a remote diagnosis is an advantage to patients who may not be able to physically visit a hospital due to old age or illness.
Telemedicine is Available 24/7
It is possible to get medical assistance from trained health care providers any time you want. Telemedicine is an innovative platform that offers the public an opportunity to get quick medical assistance within a few minutes of experiencing symptoms of a suspected medical problem.
“Telemedicine” and “Tele-Health” are Different Terms…
These two terms have been wrongly used interchangeably in the media. According to Healthcare Weekly, Tele-health is a non-clinical term that refers to the process of offering medical assistance with the use of telecommunication technology.
While telemedicine is the process of interacting directly with a patient, making a diagnosis, and offering a prescription or medical advice on how to treat the diagnosed ailment.
Remote Monitoring Can Be Done with Telemedicine
Doctors can adequately monitor patients remotely, using technologies such as video cameras connected to the internet or via social media such as Facebook Live or Skype.
According to DigitalAuthority.me, remote monitoring in telemedicine is crucial in fields such as cardiovascular health, psychiatry, or gynaecology, when the doctor needs to observe the patient’s condition properly to make an accurate diagnosis.
The plan to offer remote medical assistance, which started as a small idea by a team of American medical doctors, has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. And it is apparent that ‘only the surface has been scratched’ regarding the potentials of telemedicine. We expect to hear about many more innovations that will make telemedicine a platform where everyone can get faster and more impactful medical assistance.