If you’re interested in learning the variety of telehealth benefits for patients and healthcare providers—then you’re in the right place!
In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of telemedicine in our modern world and why it’s so important for society at large.
Why Is Telemedicine Important In Healthcare And What Is Telehealth?
As of yet, there isn’t an agreed universal definition of the term’s ‘telehealth’ and ‘telemedicine’. Telehealth and telemedicine are often used interchangeably but there are some differences between the two terms.
Telehealth is considered the wider scope term of the two, with telemedicine often falling under, or within telehealth.
Telehealth is regarded as both clinical and non-clinical services within the remote delivery of healthcare services sector. This includes healthcare information services, education, and delivery.
For example, telehealth not only covers the use of technology to remotely monitor the vital signs of patients, but it can also cover the training and education of workers within the field of remote healthcare services.
In general, telemedicine is most simply regarded as the remote delivery of healthcare, and the prescription of medicine and treatments via different forms of telecommunications.
Telemedicine is often used to specifically refer to the treatment of patients, and the use of technology to deliver remote healthcare services to patients.
The types of telecommunications used within telehealth and telemedicine can include all digital and electronic forms of communication such as email, telephone calls, and video calls.
Telemedicine allows healthcare providers to deliver consultations, prescriptions, and referrals whilst also monitoring patients and managing medical conditions without ever having to see in the patient in person unless necessary.
Overall telemedicine helps to make healthcare more accessible, efficient, and safer. And it’s now a vital aspect of international healthcare because it solves a variety of accessibility and safety issues for both patients and clinicians.
Telehealth is extremely convenient and the extensive telehealth infrastructure that is now in place, makes it easier for patients to have video and telephone appointments. Along with being able to avoid extra costs such as travel and time off of work (that would usually be required to visit an on-site healthcare facility).
One of the earliest cases of telemedicine was back in the 1950’s when a television link was set up between the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute and the Norfolk State Hospital in order to facilitate psychiatric consultations for patients.1 Since then, telehealth has gone from strength to strength and continues to become a more viable and popular form of healthcare around the globe.
In fact, telemedicine was a central and vital component of ensuring that people could receive healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without an effective telemedicine system in place, we would have found ourselves in deep(er) water around the globe…
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth helped to ensure that healthcare providers were as protected as possible whilst delivering on the frontline, while also ensuring that those who were vulnerable, sick, or needed medical attention were able to receive consultations, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment.
Many healthcare sector commentators have even gone so far as to suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest driver of digital adoption and uptake in history.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Telehealth?
Whenever we start doing something new, there is always a bit of resistance. As humans, we tend to like things that we know. So naturally, when telehealth started becoming the norm (as did many digital forms of communication) during the COVID-19 pandemic—there were a lot of people who doubted the effectiveness of it.
And whilst telehealth isn’t problem free (like most societal systems), it does hold a long list of advantages that have made it a huge success.
But, if you’re still on the fence regarding telehealth and its benefits and applications, here are some of the reasons that we love telehealth and telemedicine at Choice Health!
1. Easily Accessible And More Efficient
Telehealth makes healthcare accessible for many more people than traditional on-site medical facilities. Those who can’t afford to take time off work, pay for childcare, or travel to appointments, no longer have to worry about losing income, or high travel costs.
And those who are managing diseases, conditions, or disorders which leave them unable to leave the house for lengthy periods of time are also spared the hassle of having to visit an on-site location.
Not only that, but the remote delivery of healthcare increases accessibility to specialists that hold niche expertise but may not be based in close proximity to the patient.
Telemedicine can be delivered via video call, telephone call, messaging services, and a variety of other digital desktop and mobile-based apps which means that consultations and monitoring can be conducted with much more flexibility for the patient in terms of day, time, and international location.
It also helps to increase the efficiency of the healthcare system by reducing waiting times that are only applicable to in person appointments and on-site locations.
Advances in technology have also increased the speed in which information is updated, shared, and maintained on healthcare information networks. And increased speed helps to improve treatment outcomes for those with extremely time sensitive conditions and diseases.
2. Support People In Their Comfort Zones
Telehealth is convenient and helps to support the comfort of the patient. And whilst initially this might not seem of huge importance, it can actually be a great advantage to support clients in their own environment for a variety of reasons.
In some cases, such as when dealing with mental health conditions, PTSD, and trauma, it can be helpful for the patient to be in an environment in which they feel safe and familiar.
3. Supports Patients With Chronic Conditions And Disabilities
In this modern era, we are seeking to become more accessible and diverse. And telehealth supports our initiative to ensure that medical care is not a privilege, but a basic human right.
Those with chronic conditions, serious health disorders, and disabilities cannot always leave the house with ease, and telemedicine ensures they have access to high quality healthcare, via virtual visits—without discrimination.
4. Increases Patient Engagement, Confidence And Empowerment
Telehealth helps to encourage patients to be more proactive in their own health by having to play an active role in their own treatment. During the process of telemedicine diagnosis and treatment, it can often involve patients having to monitor their symptoms and vital signs.
Patients often have the responsibility of booking their own appointments, taking prescribed courses of medication, and perhaps other recommended actions—such as certain exercises that also contribute to their treatment and healing.
Some diseases, conditions, and disorders also come with interactive informational hubs that are delivered via the internet and mobile applications. For example, patients might be supported through losing weight or quitting smoking with different suggestions and recommendations via educational videos and informative digital guides.
And although this is often all accompanied by reminders and accountability check-ins via telecommunication systems, it still helps to increase the patient’s self-empowerment and responsibility in managing their own health.
When patients have the responsibility of recording, reporting, and managing their own health it helps to increase their confidence, and therefore could potentially help to improve long-term health outcomes.
5. Improves Patient Education
Telehealth helps to improve education because rather than relying on healthcare workers, patients are often encouraged to play an active role in monitoring and treating their own conditions.
This means that patients are supplied with in-depth informational support that improves their understanding of their condition, preventative measures, coping strategies, and treatment.
Improving patient education can potentially help to improve long-term health outcomes because the public are being educated on how to prevent conditions, reduce triggers, monitor symptoms, manage symptoms, and spot the signs of when changes in treatment may be required. Empowering patients and educating the public supports the healthcare system by aiming to reduce avoidable and preventable conditions and illnesses.
6. Improves Healthcare Provider Internal Communication And Education
A well-established telehealth infrastructure helps to improve communication between healthcare professionals and care providers. Primary Care Providers (PCP) are able to share information seamlessly between teams and different units. This helps to increase efficiency and minimize miscommunication.
Primary care providers are also able to liaise with specialists, consult with independent healthcare professionals, and easily manage more complex diagnosis and treatment processes due to advances in telehealth technology and systems, including the cloud.
Telehealth and its associated technology also help to improve the education of healthcare professionals much in the same way that it does with patients. It allows up-to-date information to be way more accessible, which allows clinicians and other medical personnel to be connected to the latest updates in medical research and industry-related legislation.
7. Helps To Control Infectious Diseases
The wide variety of telehealth benefits were quite effortlessly displayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the great benefits of telemedicine is that it can help to contain and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Those requiring treatment are not necessarily required to visit on-site medical facilities where they may come into contact with not only other citizens but vulnerable citizens, who may be dealing with their own conditions and impaired immune systems.
8. Can Improve Assessments
Telehealth at home assessments and remote patient monitoring can help to improve diagnosis and treatment because specialist healthcare providers are able to assess and monitor patients in their own environment. This can allude to potential causation and triggers that may impact health conditions, treatment, and recovery.
9. Can Improve Family Support And Accessibility
Where necessary and consensual; family and friends are able to support the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of patients. Sometimes it helps to have a family member or friend present. Not only can they provide the patient support, but they may be able to think of relevant questions to ask the healthcare provider that the patient may have forgotten about.
It is a lot more accessible to have friends and family support patients within the telehealth system, because individuals do not have to travel and can join appointments remotely irrespective of their location in relation to the patient.
10. Great For Receiving Medical Treatment Whilst Travelling
Telemedicine is really handy for those who are travelling away from home. This might be individuals who are on holiday or perhaps even travelling regularly for work. In many cases, the telehealth system allows you to receive medical care from your trusted and usual medical professionals.
And if you do find yourself having to receive in-person treatment whilst away from home, you can easily get a second opinion from your regular medical healthcare professionals back at home.
Unfortunately, medical standards can vary around the world, which can provide genuine and logical concerns for those travelling around the globe.
11. Helps To Combat Medical Inequity
Unfortunately, medical standards vary greatly around the world. However, the rise of telehealth helps to combat medical inequity by ensuring that you can have access to high quality healthcare irrespective of where you live and the standard of your local healthcare system.
There are still issues with this, because high quality healthcare in More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs), also come with a higher price tag than healthcare options in Lesser Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs). But telehealth is a great beginning to help bridge the gap in healthcare inequity around the globe.
For example, if you’re in a country in which you aren’t happy with your local healthcare system, and you require surgery you can use international telehealth services to connect with another surgeon and do all the prep work prior to flying for your surgery.
What Are The Cons Of Telemedicine?
As with any healthcare service, digital health care is not without its own set of disadvantages.
Even though telehealth services are, in general, cost effective and convenient, there are limitations.
1. Telehealth Isn’t Always Applicable
One of the main, and obvious limitations is that not all health services and types of patient care can be administered remotely via virtual care. There are still many types of health care and urgent care that require in-person treatment.
2. Increases The Risk Of Data Security Issues
There are also security and safety issues with regards to sharing and transmitting personal data, and especially health data, via electronic systems and telemedicine software.
Data and security vulnerabilities extend beyond the responsibility of virtual care services because patients and perhaps in some instances at home care providers are also responsible for sharing personal data.
If patients and at home care providers are not savvy with technology and telehealth software, they may put their own data at risk, and could possibly open up network vulnerabilities for telehealth programs too.
3. Regulatory And Legal Grey Areas
Telehealth is still a developing sector—and will continue to develop and evolve with the changes in technology and society at large. And due to the developing nature of telehealth there are still regulatory and legal grey areas and challenges that need to be addressed.
Quality control is a prime example. If you’re accessing telehealth from another country, how can you be sure of the quality of the medical care that you’re receiving? How do you measure the standard of the medical health care professional and healthcare system that you’re accessing via telehealth?
Another issue is legal liability. If you’re accessing telehealth from a different country than your home country (in which you’re a national), and perhaps you even travel to a different country to receive healthcare, if an issue arises who is legally liable?
Conclusion
There are a variety of different benefits of telehealth for patients and healthcare providers around the globe, and as time goes on the list of benefits will surely increase as we continue to find innovative ways to benefit from international healthcare services!
About The Author
Pauric Greenan is an experienced PACS consultant that has been PACS lead on several high-profile PACS projects in both the UK and Ireland. Pauric is internationally available for PACS consulting. Contact him here for more details.
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