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What is Telemedicine

What is Telemedicine?

Telemedicine simply refers to the diagnosis and treatment of patients remotely through electronic communication. Video calls,teleconferencing, chat and image sharing are some of the most popular ways.

Telemedicine has been widely used in various fields of medicine to provide care remotely. Telemedicine services were usually limited to emergent services and had to undergo serious restrictions. The original purpose was to support the patients with no or limited access to specialists, including the far-fetched rural areas.

Telemedicinequickly gained momentum owing to the global COVID-19 pandemic. This shift was owing to the risks and the restrictions. It helped patients gain access to healthcare providers without endangering each other’s lives.

The doctors were able to answer urgent patient concerns, monitor their patients online, avoid hospital visits of non-critical cases and utilise their time optimally.

It supplemented conventional care and helped ease the burden on the medical fraternity in the testing times. Telemedicine became the answer to a lot of problems and its scope grew rapidly.

How istelemedicine changing the face ofhealthcare?

Telemedicine is a boon to the healthcare industry. While it was believed to be preferred by the healthcare providers, COVID-19 brought to light that it is equally preferred by patients. Telemedicine is constantly improving the healthcare industry by offering numerous benefits -

(1) Improved care, defying all barriers
Telemedicine reduces geographical barriers and has the capability to connect a patient to a specialist. The specialists are now accessible to even patients in rural areas, improving the patient’s care.

A patient with non-emergent illness can be diagnosed and treated remotely. This saves time for the patient as well as the healthcare provider.

(2) Answer urgent concerns 

Telemedicine is a boon in case of an emergency situation. A patient may be unable to reach a healthcare facility in time or may not be able to wait to see a doctor in person. In such situations, telemedicine can come to the rescue. The patient can be diagnosed and cared for through videoconferencing.

It also reduces the lag time in follow-up sessions. The patient can easily reconnect with the doctor.

(3) Increased comfort

With telemedicine, patients can now consult their doctors from the comfort of their homes. This is especially important for people who find it difficult to visit a healthcare facility owing to their severe illnesses or old age.

(4) Consistent patient monitoring

Telemedicine aids healthcare providers in keeping a close check on their patients through teleconferences and remote monitoring devices. As a result, the patient doesn’t have to visit the healthcare facilities and can visit in emergent cases. This is a boon for patients with mobility or travel constraints. Preventive care and early intervention lead to better patient healthcare.

(5) Improved hospital staff efficiencies 

Minor problems or follow-up consultations are time-consuming for the patients as well the doctors. While a patient has to visit the hospital, the doctors and the staff have to deal with crowding and congestion. However, with telemedicine at the forefront, doctors can see such patients remotely. This reduces the inflow of patients in the hospital and hence, allows room for prioritization of critical patients.

With increased adoption of telemedicine in the healthcare system during the strenuous period of the pandemic, it is believed to improve healthcare facilities owing to the convenience, lower costs and improved access.

The Future of Telemedicine and Healthcare 

In the critical period of the pandemic, telemedicine has proved its mettle in being an extraordinary alternative to the conventional healthcare system. The support provided by the telemedicine services was a saviour in a time when the healthcare system could have collapsed under the weight of the number of critical patients.

Hybrid healthcare- a reality!

Telemedicine when clubbed with the existing healthcare channels has improved the clinical outcomes immensely. It is likely that telemedicine will continue to see an upward trend. The developing nations or far-fetched regions with limited healthcare facilities immensely benefit from the popularisation of telemedicine services.

It is most likely that the healthcare industry will work on the hybrid model where the patients will be able to witness the greatness of both worlds- physical and virtual healthcare.

Next-generation healthcare-

The growth and the improvement of IT and communication in the healthcare space will be a pillar to support telemedicine. Both patients and healthcare providers are expecting telemedicine to become a part of the standard of care.

The development in the field of nanotechnology, sensor devices and communication will modify the way of providing healthcare.

Telemedicine also includes a video component that is being constantly upgraded to incorporate artificial intelligence. The apps and bots will mechanise the information collection process, facilitating a smooth interaction between the patient and the healthcare professional. They will use the data collected through these processes and process it to improve the quality of patient care.