As the world continues changing and technological advancements become more prevalent, it is important to integrate technology with healthcare. Technological developments and healthcare are interlaced to save and improve the lives of many individuals. Remote care or telemedicine is one aspect of technology, which concentrates on serving the needs of individuals at any location or of any age.
Telemedicine exploded in popularity as the response to the physical distancing needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Now, most parts of the world have started to open up again, making it easy for doctors to see many patients in person.
However, most telehealth providers have realized that online medicine strategy offers advantages, which have nothing to do with the global pandemic, and it may continue paying off even after the epidemic is over. To help you understand why telemedicine is gaining more popularity, here are key points to look at:
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1. More Access to Medical Care
Because telemedicine is inextricably linked to telecommunication technologies, a lot of barriers to getting medical care are removed. For instance, telemedicine allows you to receive the necessary healthcare services without visiting your healthcare provider.
Professionals at Livv Natural suggest that these services are vital for post-surgical patients, the elderly, patients living in rural areas, and individuals with disabilities. Patients may use a telemedicine app to have ordinary real-time body condition monitoring and e-visits with the help of wearable biosensors and wireless medical devices.
2. Protect Chronically Ill Patients
Individuals with underlying symptoms of pulmonary diseases and hypertension, among other chronic health issues, are more vulnerable to coronavirus. Luckily, video visits and remote patient monitoring helps to establish an ‘envelope of care’ around chronically ill individuals. This keeps patients safe at home while in their physician’s line of sight.
After issuing patients the right monitoring kits, tablets, or smartphones, doctors can deliver messages of encouragement. They can also receive daily readings from biometric tools and send surveys to assess depression, symptoms, and anxiety.
3. Convenience
A visit to your doctor usually means taking more hours off work and pulling your kids out of school. Though, visiting a telehealth platform to communicate with a doctor through video calls provides an enormous increase inconvenience.
Obviously, telemedicine reduces travel and wait time in the physician’s office. This convenience may also allow more individuals to keep up with regular appointments. Everything from consultations to virtual visits with your GP can be conveniently offered to patients.
4. Monetizing Work Doctor’s Do for Free
Usually, physicians spend more time on their smartphones or answering messages. Telemedicine turns this kind of work into income. Text-based and phone interactions are a regular occurrence in doctors’ everyday practice, though telemedicine allows them to reap all benefits.
If you are practicing telemedicine, follow-up messages or calls can change into valuable video chats. This means you will monetize your virtual interactions and provide a better-quality exchange. Many patients, willing to pay a lot of cash, are searching for telemedicine options, so this means more income for you.
5. Minimized Initial Investment
Regular visits to your doctor can be an expensive affair – something that most patients want to avoid. On average, the costs of treating non-life-threatening cases, like bronchitis, sore throat, and flu, is $1,800 more in ER compared to a primary setting.
Unlike starting a physical hospital, setting up telemedicine facilities is affordable. With many individuals turning online for their treatment and medical needs, this can be a prime reason for entrepreneurs to consider investing in the telemedicine sector.
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6. Insurance Reimbursement
Although billing your health insurance remains somehow uncertain, developments that CMS ushered in have an impact on how private insurance firms regard telehealth. Chances are, insurance firms may adapt to the growing demand for doctor’s appointments and reimburse properly.
Healthcare organizations may likely start establishing permanent telemedicine services for individuals residing in rural areas. Telemedicine advantages have expanded beyond coronavirus for Medicare beneficiaries, so the bulk of other insurance firms will likely follow suit.
7. Decreased Absenteeism
Telemedicine can potentially reduce absenteeism and improve productivity for your workers. The general wait time for a doctor’s appointment is more than two hours. This is not doable for workers working long hours and lack enough time to visit their doctors during their workday.
Fortunately, telemedicine offers employees a chance to quickly receive healthcare services at the best available time for them.
8. Ownership of Medical Record
This might sound silly, though the status quo has been to lock patient records in healthcare systems, depending on the fax machine to transit helpful health details. As many healthcare facilities go through digital changes, data is available in the digital format.
Telemedicine facilitates the secure and simple transmission of these records to their EHRs (electronic health records). You may search, view, and send your medical forms and details. This means it is no longer necessary to depend on the health offices and centers to be the gatekeeper of your details.
9. Quality Care
Research shows that online care for psoriasis is as effective as in-person care. As a matter of fact, you may even get better care in certain situations when you leverage the telecommunication technology and collaborate with your naturopathic doctor or physician.
Through a telehealth platform, your doctor may see and speak to you directly. This means you will also have a chance to show your physician how your skin looks and even point out a few changes. In a more lit room, telehealth doctors may also take a closer look at the psoriasis plaques and give prescriptions depending on what they see or tell them.
10. Reduced Hospital Readmissions
Avoidable hospital readmissions and unnecessary ER (emergency room) visits are among the key reasons the US has the biggest healthcare spending per capita. Beyond the damages and costs that this may have on patients, hospitals also experience high penalties for readmission rates.
Making healthcare convenient and accessible to patients will help cut down those ER trips and keep patients off the hospital.
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In a Nutshell!
Coronavirus has catapulted medicine into an online and new world. Although telehealth and telemedicine have been there for years, they have quickly changed from a ‘nice-to-have’ to an important necessity.
These days, many physicians depend on telemedicine to properly diagnose ailments, connect with patients, and offer consultation, to keep people safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
