Due to the pandemic the use of telehealth has been more and more appreciated. To avoid the further spread of the virus, countries around the world were put on lock down and individuals are asked to isolate themselves and stay at home. Avoiding direct physical contact is essential in protecting ourselves and keeping ourselves safe from COVID-19. Innovative solutions are really handy at a time like this because we have to adapt, especially because there are changes in the things we do. In order to adapt, contactless ways are being implemented. Telehealth plays that role in the healthcare system and it is one of the best solutions we have so far. It allows medical professionals to provide continuous care to the community by communicating through online means.
Through telehealth or telemedicine medical professionals and patients are able to follow COVID-19 health guidelines such as social distancing. Despite being so popular now, telemedicine isn’t new. It has been used to provide healthcare to rural areas. It makes healthcare convenient for them so that they don’t have to travel to the city to seek treatment. It also allows patients to connect with specialists who they wouldn’t have access to without telemedicine. It really is a great way to make sure that people get the best medical option they need wherever they may be.
Telemedicine is highly used for consulting. Being able to stay at home while you get to talk to your doctor is really convenient for us right now because going to the hospital for something that isn’t as urgent or critical can expose us to the virus.
Telemedicine combats clinical staff shortage and it optimizes their efficiency. There are a lot of healthcare apps and softwares now that help them with their workload. It makes tasks easier for them. For example, digitizing health records makes it easier for them to look for medical records. There’s no need to physically file paperwork manually. Sending out lab results is also easier. In the situation we are facing right now, being able to send out Covid test results online makes it easier for both the clinical staff and the people taking covid tests.
Another benefit of telemedicine is that it allows those who have chronic diseases that need constant monitoring easily reachable. Remote monitoring can be done through phone calls or video calls.
Cost of care is also said to be reduced because patients can avoid the associated costs of an in-person visit to the doctor. Such expenses may include travel, parking and so on.
It may also boost or improve productivity because you don’t have to make time to go to the doctor anymore. You don’t have to get time off work. You save the time that you waste on driving to the hospital and back home and waiting at the doctor’s office.
It also builds and encourages patient engagement. A lot of appointments get cancelled for numerous reasons. Doctor’s being so reachable makes it easier for patients to connect and communicate with them. It lessens their reasons not to meet with their doctor. A person’s health isn’t something that can wait. If you’re experiencing problems and you need consultation, as much as possible don’t miss your appointment with your doctor. Most of the time we don’t know if there’s something wrong with our health until we get checked. So it’s always better to find out as soon as possible than to find out about it when it’s too late.
