As the world progresses, we witness technology entering different industries to increase customer satisfaction and decrease workload. Such is its effect on the healthcare industry. Over the years, many technological innovations have improved how the healthcare industry works; telemedicine is one of them.
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What Is Telemedicine?
Telemedicine refers to remotely providing healthcare services to patients via technological devices like telephones and video calls. It facilitates patients, especially those living in remote, underdeveloped, or rural areas, with at-home medical consultations and treatments.
Although telemedicine is not a new concept, it has gained popularity since the covid 19 outbreak, and its market value will continue to grow. In 2019 its market value was 50 billion U.S. dollars, predicted to reach 460 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.
Telemedicine acts as an aid for medical practitioners, patients, and even medical students in numerous ways. Let’s discuss some of these below.
Advantages Of Telemedicine To The Healthcare Industry
- Convenience
Isn’t it exhausting to drive to the emergency room in the middle of your work day and sit in the waiting room for hours only for a five-minute consult with your doctor? Thanks to telemedicine Pennsylvania, patients facing minor medical issues like prescription refills or dosage adjustments can avoid a trip to the doctor’s office. They can schedule appointments between work and save time. A survey carried out in March 2021 showed that telemedicine has made medical care easier for almost 86% of Americans.
Telemedicine also brings ease to medical practitioners by saving them time, which they may invest in increasing their credentials through online degrees. Medical practitioners like registered nurses can go for affordable RN to BSN online programs that help expand their horizons and learn more about patient care technology, research, safety, and quality of healthcare systems. This, in turn, helps increase their career opportunities. Additionally, they are designed with working students in mind, so the tuition fee is relatively reasonable, plus online training saves them from transport fares.
- Increased accessibility
Many patients around the world are homebound due to a disability. Numerous patients reside in underdeveloped or rural areas that do not have proper medical facilities. Numerous patients with medical conditions require consultations from specialists that reside halfway across the world and cannot afford to fly those distances.
Telemedicine bridges these geographical gaps and lets unlimited professional healthcare reach patients everywhere, regardless of where they live. The majority of these online medical networking systems offer patients consultations with all kinds of specialists all day long. It saves time and allows people to avoid traveling to the emergency room in unfavorable conditions, like rainstorms or blizzards.
Furthermore, telemedicine allows consultations with an available doctor at any time of the day. This service is a major plus point for parents with infants or toddlers, as babies often get sick in the middle of the night with mild fevers or stomach bugs. In such circumstances, parents don’t need to rely on internet diagnosis but can consult a professional immediately via online healthcare services and get a proper diagnosis and even a prescription if necessary.
A survey in Great Britain in 2021 concluded that 61% of respondents admitted that telemedicine increases accessibility to better quality healthcare.
- Inexpensive
We all agree that healthcare can leave a hole in our bank accounts, even for people with insurance. Consultations with doctors and therapists, emergency room visits, and even travel costs for people far from the medical facility can be very costly.
Telemedicine helps you cut costs. It saves you from unnecessary trips to the emergency room by providing you with proper diagnoses and prescriptions for minor medical emergencies. It saves money and time for those with chronic diseases because they can use home monitoring tools to test new symptoms or health deterioration. As a result, the medical professional determines whether they need an in-person check-up.
Telemedicine is cheaper than in-person consultations. Since you are consulting with your doctor over the phone, it cuts travel costs for the patients and office costs for the doctors as they can very easily provide their assistance by renting a smaller and cheaper office space with minimum assistants at the front desk. Furthermore, many online medical networking systems provide patients with cash-pay telemedicine, a huge bonus for those without health insurance. Telemedicine is more efficient, and it helps avoid or shorten hospital stays.
- Increased patient care
When we get sick, our immune systems weaken, and we are more prone to catching contagious diseases. Long waits at the doctor’s office, with multiple sick people around, increase the likelihood of getting sicker due to the germs in the air, especially for kids, pregnant women, senior citizens, and people with compromised immune systems. Telemedicine allows people to get medical help from home, avoiding the transfer of pathogens and ensuring the safety of both medical practitioners and patients.
Additionally, many people suffer from anxiety disorders like Nosocomephobia. Such people may face severe anxiety when entering the doctor’s office and thus may choose to avoid getting proper medical help. Telemedicine allows these patients to get proper care while staying in the comfort of their own homes.
Which Medical Specialties Are Most Driven By Telemedicine?
Telemedicine is a major asset to the healthcare industry. Relevant advancements have been made for all patient history and medical information to remain safe and confidential while still accessible to medical practitioners.
Some medical professionals, like cardiologists and oncologists, greatly benefit from this medical network. They use it to interact with their patients during ongoing treatments or to make initial diagnoses. The most benefitted medical practitioners from telemedicine are mental health practitioners. People experiencing mental health emergencies like panic attacks, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts can instantly connect with their therapist anytime or night.
Conclusion
Telemedicine is not a fresh concept. It has been used for decades and will continue to grow as time progresses. It is not a replacement for in-person visits with your doctor, but it can help you decide whether it is necessary. It can help you catch diseases by their early symptoms, making medical care more accessible and affordable for most people. Telemedicine is a vital addition to patient care.
