Because there are so many alternatives in health services, many agents are looking to improve their commercial schemes. Technology-focused on the medical area is evolving, driving tremendous growth for specialty healthcare agents. In this way, consultants improve their patient care anywhere in the world after relying on technology.
In this specialized healthcare field, providers are targeting a HIPAA compliant telemedicine platform for their participation. If you are interested in technology-based healthcare, you can learn a little about current platforms. You can solve all your doubts about telemedicine, the advantages it presents, your vision for the future, and other things.
Telemedicine: a concept that has reached the health field
Telemedicine is a long-distance healing system that is supported by technology to give better patient care. This medical project is supported by several technological tools that have worked for years in telecommunication. Several specialists worldwide use telemedicine, which is a success, and after the arrival of covid-19, it was given more priority.
The World Health Organization defines telemedicine as medical assistance that does not stop despite the distance between doctor and patient. This means of consultation takes advantage of technology to send diagnoses, order treatments, prevent diseases, evaluate the patient, among other things.
On the other hand, the Telemedicine Association in the United States thinks that this service takes advantage of online communications for the medical area. With telemedicine, the patient can keep in touch with the specialist using mobile applications, Skype video calls, social networks, or emails. Telemedicine has some key factors in its operation, such as:
- Seeks to change the results in medical consultations with patients.
- It aims to link technology with the medical area for all patients.
- You want to eliminate geographic boundaries so that doctor-patient communication is fluid.
Where did telemedicine come from? Let’s talk about the history
Telemedicine was born with the evolution of technology means since the first mobile phone was launched. One of the first medical consultations captured virtually was carried out in the 1950s by a neurosurgeon. In later years, telemedicine was used by various people and agencies such as NASA in the 1960s.
Today telemedicine was updated along with the new trends that surround the world for people to communicate. Today you can find a HIPAA compliant telemedicine platform that provides a formidable communication service.
The telemedicine of the moment relies on video calls, family conferences, or sending analysis documents. Medical experts communicate with your patient from another city or country, and you can easily check her health status. In exchanging information between doctor-patient, formats such as videos, texts, PDF documents, or even Word are used.
Telemedicine vs. Telehealth, are they the same?
Telemedicine and Telehealth are often confused because they share several concepts in their work scheme. However, you may notice that telemedicine focuses on doctor visits while Telehealth addresses the whole problem. Telehealth seeks to manage customer care regarding their consultations, routine check-ups, medications they use, etc.
On the other hand, telemedicine provides medical education for rural and urban areas alike. Telemedicine only hopes that the patient continues his treatments, and with technology, he wants to see the advances of her study.
You can also differentiate telemedicine from Telehealth because it is focused on the patient and not the medical staff. Telehealth can only be used by nurses, medical specialists, pharmacists, or any healthcare team.
Advantages in telemedicine
If you are a doctor or a patient, telemedicine will undoubtedly serve you at any time in your life, so you should not ignore it. You can have the best medical care by video calls and feel supported by a specialist doctor mile from home. Telemedicine supports all those people who cannot receive immediate medical attention and gives you several advantages in the service:
- Flexibility
One of the most important things in telemedicine is the flexibility in medical care compared to traditional consultations. You as a doctor can use telemedicine through mobile applications, cloud software, email, or social networks. Telemedics will not rest in their work, and in some way, this trend will help them save many lives from home.
- Change medical care
If you compare telemedicine with a traditional doctor, you may notice a huge change in care. Telemedics can have a clear mind at home, set aside an hour for the consultation, and in general, be very attentive to your words.
- Cost-effectiveness
With telemedicine, the health professional can avoid the costs of medical care for chronic patients. These doctors can also control their working hours in the hospital, allowing them to go out and share with their families. Telemedics can also improve their work time by multitasking when it comes to medical consultations and prescription books.
- Complete solutions
Telemedicine can provide complete solutions at a faster level, being supported by the technology of the moment. Telemedicine can also use electronic health records to make automatic bills, payments, or diagnoses using AI.
For the health expert to have complete solutions, they will have to resort to a HIPAA compliant telemedicine platform. Although telemedicine can create their work scheme, the platforms focused on this area may make everything easier.
Problems with Telemedicine
Although telemedicine sounds like a great medical consultation mode, you may notice some disadvantages. Several challenges surround telemedicine, such as:
- Medical education
Not all healthcare professionals have a background in technology and don’t even have a mobile device. For telemedicine to be used by all physicians, education systems must be created.
- Commitment
If the technology fails, this could compromise telemedicine, making it a downside. The doctor can lose his phone or run out of data signal, which is enough not to attend to the patient.
- Diagnostic failures
The margin of error in medical diagnoses from home can be very high compared to formal consultations. The patient may receive unfair treatment that causes other additional effects to the condition he has.
Conclusion
Telemedicine presents a solid work scheme that will undoubtedly evolve the medical area in the coming years. If you are a specialist medical yearning to join the online trend, you should look for a HIPAA compliant telemedicine platform. You should abide by the medical insurance transfer and liability law rules if you want to tackle telemedicine.
You can make a difference in these medical consultations by organizing a schedule, check-ups, and treatment effects. In telemedicine, you can use artificial intelligence to give automatic diagnoses to patients who contact you.