Telemedicine, or remote medicine, is essentially the use of telecommunications to diagnose and treat a patient while they remain in their home. The medical practitioner and the patient may be in different countries or even different buildings.

It’s easy to understand the benefits that can come with telemedicine for patients who are either physically unable to leave their home, not near a hospital, or simply don’t have access to proper health care services nearby.

Telemedicine is used to communicate with doctors, provide diagnoses and possibly treat a patient remotely.

Telemedicine has been proven to be a viable form of treatment and diagnosis, saving patients money and travel time while helping them receive quality care when they otherwise wouldn’t have access to it.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the benefits and types of treatment that can be provided to patients through telemedicine.

What is Telemedicine

With telemedicine, patients can video chat online with physicians and receive diagnostic tests, such as blood work, radiology testing and EMG. They can also get prescription medications sent to their home.

As the video communication is clear and in real-time with the doctor, it allows the patient to immediately talk to their doctors about symptoms or issues. This can give them peace of mind and start them on treatment immediately if need be. According to one survey, 64% of patients would prefer to visit a doctor through video.

What are Telehealth Services

If you don’t live in an area where there is a major hospital that provides telemedicine, then that means you have a need for telehealth services. Telehealth services can be used to provide healthcare services to individuals who are not physically able to travel to a doctor’s office.

This includes home monitoring, such as blood pressure and pulse monitoring and helps people with chronic diseases such as diabetes or hypertension. More than half of all hospitals in the United States now offer some form of telemedicine service.

The best way to describe what telehealth is would be remote health (remote care) because there isn’t a specific facility that provides the same quality care that would be available in person if the patient were physically able and chose to go.

How Does Telemedicine Work

An easy way to better understand how telemedicine works is by taking a look at a patient using it. As previously mentioned, telemedicine allows patients to receive medical care when they wouldn’t have access to it otherwise, such as from home.

An example of this would be if the patient needed prescription medication sent and filled remotely. This can be done through video conferencing or simply by sending photos of the patient or their medical records for review.

By doing this through telemedicine, the patient does not need to physically leave their home and can continue on with their daily life instead of having to wait in an urgent care facility or doctor’s office.

If this isn’t an option due to the illness or condition of the patient, then telemedicine can be used in place of going to a doctor’s office and allows the patient to receive proper medical care.

The use of telemedicine into medical services is propelling this business forward.

Virtual Appointments

Virtual appointments are a great way to see a nurse practitioner from the comfort of your own home. You can schedule a virtual appointment online through a patient portal. During the visit, the nurse practitioner will review your personal health information and answer any questions you have.

Health care providers such as doctors or nurse practitioners can now offer virtual visits to their patients. This is how technology meets health care, which can be a convenient and cost-effective way to meet the needs of patients.

The health care team at the patient portal is available for telemedicine visits and doctor visits. Any family member can be seen by the health care team.

What Can Telemedicine Be Used For

There are several different ways that telemedicine can be utilized. One way is through video conferencing, allowing a patient and doctors to speak with one another while they are in different locations.

This provides a more personalized approach to care by allowing the physician and patient to communicate with one another. This can be done through a computer or even a smartphone or tablet.

As mentioned before, telemedicine allows patients to receive diagnostic test services from their homes without having to leave them. This is particularly useful for those who are unable to travel due to health reasons, such as patients with chronic pain, heart conditions and many other types of illnesses.

Many people also believe that telemedicine assistance can help prevent other medical conditions from occurring. This is because the doctor will be able to see the patient right before they are going into surgery or will be able to talk with them about burning off fat before they do so.

How a Telemedicine Appointment Works

Like many people, you may be interested in a telemedicine appointment but are unsure of how this type of service actually works. Here is an example of how a typical telemedicine appointment would go.

First, the patient will pick up their phone and call their doctor’s office to set up an appointment for telemedicine services. Next, they will sync their health app with the doctor’s office system so that there is an in-depth overview of the medical file available at both sites.

This allows the physician to look over your entire medical history, including any medications you are currently taking and any other health issues you have had in the past or currently dealing with.

Once this is done, the patient will go to the doctor’s office and then sit in a room that looks like a normal office, except the doctor won’t be there. Then, the patient will be able to see the physician through telemedicine. During this time, they will be able to talk with their physician through video conferencing or computer chat.

The patient may also receive a visit from their nurse or another medical staff member who will ask them questions about their health and how they are feeling so that they can get as much information as possible from them.

The Benefits of Telemedicine

As we mentioned above, there are many benefits of using telemedicine.

The first benefit is that the patient doesn’t have to leave the comfort of their home. For example, if you are in the process of losing weight and want to start a routine at home to burn fat before committing to surgery. But if you need help talking with your doctor while doing this, then telemedicine can be used for this type of service as well.

Since it is so convenient and more affordable than travelling hundreds or thousands of miles to see a doctor for urgent care services, it is easy to see how much time and money can be saved by choosing telemedicine over traditional health care services.

With telemedicine, there are no crowds or waiting for appointments and the doctor is able to see you in real-time. This means that your doctor can see you before you leave the house and it is easy to provide a diagnosis.

They will be able to look at your medical records and use this information along with what you tell them during the appointment. This can help make sure that your health issues are addressed.

Another benefit of telemedicine is that it allows the physician to talk with their patients about how they are doing, whether they have any symptoms or issues going on and offers guidance on how to improve this situation.

As soon as a patient arrives at the treatment centre for their doctor’s appointment, they will meet with a physician who will evaluate their condition and complete any necessary tests. Then, the doctor and patient will go over the results together. This gives everyone peace of mind because they know what is wrong and how to move forward.

Although this is just an example of how telemedicine can work, the benefits are endless. With telemedicine, you’re able to get medical care when you need it promptly without having to travel for hours to do so. This allows for more time with your family and friends instead of sitting in a waiting room or travelling in vehicles that are not designed for comfort.

Cons of Telemedicine

One of the potential problems with telemedicine is that it still doesn’t have a large level of acceptance by the medical community. That being said, there are some things that may be daunting to people who are thinking about using this type of service. The main concern, however, is how this technology could impact privacy within the medical industry.

The most obvious thing though is the cost of telemedicine which can often be quite expensive. Some people may see this as a drawback and not want to use it because they think they will just end up paying more money in the long run if they do decide to use it.

Hundreds of telemedicine bills have been introduced in dozens of states during the previous few years.

If you’re a medical professional, you may have an obstacle when it comes to integrating telemedicine into your practice. You’re not likely going to be able to offer this type of service when there is not enough demand for it at the moment. However, if you are considering the future of telemedicine you may want to consider the fact that there will be even more demand in the future.

The Growth of Telemedicine in Healthcare

If you want to see where telemedicine is going in the future, one of the best places to look is at the growth of telemedicine in healthcare. Right now, telemedicine accounts for nearly 10% of people who visit a doctor. This means that many people are using this type of service and it’s something that physicians have been offering for years.

These days, more and more people are using telemedicine in order to help themselves manage their health as well as to save time and money on getting medical checkups done. This is despite the fact that there are not as many doctors yet who are able to offer this service.

If you ask anyone in the healthcare industry what they think of telemedicine, they will probably tell you that they see it as a huge benefit to their practice. They will also tell you that so many people are using this type of service that there is no way to avoid it entirely. It’s something that has become a staple within the medical industry and one that is not going away any time soon.

How to Get the Most Out of Telemedicine

One of the most important things that you can do when it comes to using telemedicine is to ask your doctor first before making a decision. They’ll be able to tell you if there are certain types of services that they are not allowed to offer and this will help you determine whether or not this is something that is right for you.

In order to get the most out of telemedicine, though, it’s important that you make use of all the different types of technology platforms on the market today. This way, you’ll have a lot of options in terms of how you want to get your health care done and how much money or time savings it may be for you.

How Telemedicine is Changing Healthcare

As telemedicine becomes more popular and more widely used, it will change how the medical industry works. In particular, telemedicine is going to be a huge benefit for those who are currently in rural areas, as well as helping people who can’t afford to spend a great deal of money on health care.

Eventually, it’s expected that telemedicine will be used by a larger percentage of people than it is now. That being said though, there is still a great deal of work to be done when it comes to this type of technology so that everyone can have access to high-quality care regardless of their location or the cost of their healthcare services.

In fact, according to a recent analysis from Geisinger Health System’s Outcomes Project, telehealth continues to thrive and contributed more than $4.6 billion to the economy in 2017.

The Future of Telemedicine

Telemedicine is still a relatively new technology that is only just starting to pick up speed. That being said, as we look further into the future, we can see that it will be especially important to keep an eye on this technology in order to ensure that everyone has access to high-quality care and an even greater level of medical privacy.

One thing that you may have noticed when looking at the benefits of telemedicine is how much time and money it can save you from having to go into a doctor’s office for routine check-ups. It’s important to remember though what many people are not aware of is the fact that you can still receive your annual physical examination through telemedicine.

This means that you’ll still be able to enjoy all of the benefits of telemedicine that we talked about in this article, including being able to speak with your doctor from the comfort of your own home. This can help you to save a great deal of time over travelling to the doctor for what might initially seem like an urgent care issue or any other at-home medical service.

Final Note

One thing you may find surprising though if you are new to the world of telemedicine, is how many different options there are when looking at this technology in the future. Whether you’re looking at a telehealth platform that is specifically designed for your needs or a doctor’s office software system, there are so many different options for what you can choose.

If you are interested in learning more about this type of technology, it may be best to speak with your doctor first and find out what they have in mind. They will be able to tell you how they want to implement telemedicine within their practice and give you the most accurate vision of how it can benefit them.

There are also some places where you may want to look at telemedicine as far as specific providers or platforms that offer this type of service.

Last Updated on October 1, 2023 by Priyanshi Sharma