As a consequence of social distancing and quarantine restrictions implemented to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, healthcare providers switched to telemedicine as an alternative to in-person doctor visits.
Health insurance coverage policies, reimbursement, and licensure policies were soon modified to make it easier to use virtual medical services.
What is Telemedicine? How is it Different from Telehealth?
Telemedicine refers to using virtual communication interfaces by a medical provider to offer clinical treatment and services (rather than an in-person visit).
Patients can use telemedicine to discuss health complications and symptoms with telehealth doctors, get diagnoses, explore the treatments available, and administer prescriptions similar to that they would if they visited the doctor in person.
Some examples of telemedicine include remote patient monitoring, virtual appointments, Emergency patient triage, etc.
On the other hand, telehealth encompasses several distant non-clinical services. Telehealth services emphasize improving remote patient care, educating patients and healthcare professionals, public health efforts, and managing healthcare.
Three Ways How Telemedicine is Transforming Healthcare
1. Enhancing convenience for patients
Patients can meet their doctors via telemedicine without the need to leave their homes.
Most individuals already have a lot on their plates, from family and job obligations to personal responsibilities. Instead of reorganizing their schedules to make it to an in-person medical appointment on time, patients can schedule virtual visits at locations and times that are convenient for them.
Residing far from clinics or having difficulty traveling to a physician’s office can pose obstacles to receiving good medical treatment. Telemedicine allows patients who previously had constrained access to medical treatments to have access to better services.
2. Prompt access to healthcare
Utilizing telemedicine, you get to see your telehealth providers within minutes, if not seconds, of connecting to your telecoms system.
Telemedicine can also provide expedited care because appointments are available immediately, as opposed to needing to wait a week or longer for an in-person visit.
3. Saves on additional expenses
Another advantage of telemedicine is its significance in cost reductions for both healthcare providers and patients. Patient healthcare costs get lowered as a result of:
- Taking fewer days off from work by eliminating commute time
- Reduced transportation expenses
- There is little to no requirement for hospitalization
- Enhanced chronic disease management
- Certain disorders such as insulin resistance and prediabetes can be prevented or reversed.
Conclusion
Technological breakthroughs in telemedicine have made life simpler for patients to obtain medical care by encouraging improved health care. Overall, these beneficial developments have the potential to improve patient care and health outcomes.
