Transforming Healthcare Delivery: The Rise of Telemedicine and Remote Care

Telemedicine has become a new hot topic in the medical industry nowadays. The covid-19 pandemic has shown us the importance of technology and remote health monitoring. In this time of need when direct contact was not possible due to the contagious nature of the coronavirus and nothing else was working, technology came to the rescue. 

Technology provided a helping hand to the medical industry and assisted medical service providers in dealing with the situation in a better way.

Telemedicine is not something fancy but is the term given to the use of technology in delivering medical services. It has been a great support to the healthcare industry which made health monitoring possible even for the person living in geographically distant areas without even meeting them personally.

Telehealth and Telemedicine

The word Telehealth gained a lot of fame in this era of the pandemic. Telehealth is the term given to health-related services that use electronic media or telecommunication networks. There are various benefits that the medical industry experienced with the introduction of telehealth services. Some of them are:

•    Easy tackling of contagious diseases like corona
•    Cost saving
•    Time-saving
•    Better and improved communication
•    Prevents healthcare service providers from catching infections
•    Time flexibility
•    Improved efficiency of medical services
•    Medical services are available to those living in remote areas
•    Better health management structure
•    Database for future evaluations

Telehealth and remote patient care

One of the best features of telemedicine or telehealth provided is remote patient care. It is a very convenient option available to medical care service providers. They can monitor their patient while sitting back at their homes or while traveling in the care. It has provided a very convenient option for medical service providers to deliver their medical services using technologies.

Remote patient care does not require any clinical kind of setting for delivering medical services to the patient; also it does not require meeting patients personally. All it requires is a telecommunication device and a good network.

Teleconsultation- the boon of technology

Telecommunication has made teleconsultation a normal practice now. It has come as a solution to health management in this busy and fast-moving world when people hardly have time to visit their health experts for their routine checkups or health monitoring. It has helped a lot in omitting the geographical distance factor to a great extent. It is also known to be a virtual consultation where to visit your medical care service provider virtually. This means you don’t need to step out of your house to get the consultation done about your health.

Telemedicine- A win win situation

Another gift of technology to the medical industry in this time of pandemic is telemedicine services. It is more of a real-time thing that provides great accessibility of healthcare services to the person in need. Telemedicine is categorized into various types:

•    Store-and-forward- it is a kind of telemedicine service that surpasses the need of meeting in person, meaning that patients and doctors are not required to be in the same room to get a diagnosis done. Patients can send their medical reports and images to their doctors and specialists for getting evaluated of their health situations. 

If used properly and to its full capacity it can allow healthcare service providers to serve mankind to their best capabilities. It is commonly used in fields like:
    - Pathology
    - Dermatology
    - Radiology

•    Remote monitoring - it uses a variety of devices that helps in delivering medical services no matter how geographically distant patients and doctors are. It enables the frequent monitoring of patient’s health which helps the healthcare service provider to provide timely treatments to their patients. 

There are various devices like a smartwatch, blood pressure monitors, glucometers, etc that support diagnosis in remote monitoring.

•    Real-time interactive virtual healthcare systems - This kind of virtual healthcare system provides real-time attention to medical service providers, especially in the case of those patients who require immediate attention and treatment. 

Remote medical treatment is supporting the healthcare industry to per best of its ability and soon will be a new face of diagnosis and treatment. It helps in keeping an eye on patients’ condition from time to time and keeping a check on their health index.

 It helps in performing preventive measures wherever required and also helps in keeping control over the health of the patient.

Digital healthcare - an evolution of the healthcare industry

Technology has converted the healthcare industry into a digital healthcare industry now, where every service and every specialist is just a click away. You access your smartphones and the internet and you can reach any specialist no matter where you dwell. It has changed the overall view of how the healthcare industry operates. Digital healthcare has brought benefits not only to medical service providers but also to patients. Here are a few of those benefits:

•    Personalized treatments which improve patient outcome
•    Cost savings on part of both patient and doctors
•    Better operating efficiency at healthcare centers
•    More beds available for serious and critical cases
•    Use of advanced analytics to treat patients
•    Better healthcare facilities at hospitals
•    Health management has become easy for patients

Not only digital healthcare is changing the face of the healthcare industry but it is also building new business opportunities for entrepreneurs. It will provide a promising future if seen from a business perspective. 

There are various portals online that are providing support to patients in the form of virtual doctor visits. It is a kind of remote meeting with your doctors and the portal contains all the information regarding your medical history and treatments. 

It also keeps a record of your past allergies and infections. These portals help you with better health management. 

The future of Telemedicine and remote healthcare 

There is no doubt that telemedicine and remote healthcare has changed how the medical industry operates and that too, on a positive note. It is in the stage of progression and will go to great heights. It has already been a global medical practice. Working on creating dashboards and platforms is in progress which will provide the complete medical history of all your family members. 
It is attracting more and more medical service providers and the general public towards it and people are becoming more active when it comes to health management.

Note : The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns about your health or are experiencing symptoms, it is important to consult with a healthcare professional. They will be able to assess your specific situation and provide you with personalised advice and treatment based on your symptoms, body type, allergies (if any), existing medical conditions etc. It is always a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional before making any decisions about your health.