Due to the advancing interest in use of technology and online services intensified by COVID, telemedicine has a large market. The hype of this service is also due to some of the objective benefits it offers.
In this article we are going to go over some of the most significant advantages of telemedicine which will help you decide whether it’s worth investing in or not. Meanwhile, go through these short but informative reads about successful CRM migration and data warehouse.
What’s Telemedicine?
Telemedicine allows you to get remote healthcare using telecommunication technology. There are three types of telemedicine.
- Synchronous: In this type of telemedicine the patient communicates with the care provider using audiovisual telecommunication technology.
- Asynchronous: In this type of telemedicine the patient’s information is transferred via electronic communication system to the concerned care provider.
- Remote Patient Monitoring: As is apparent from the term itself, all of the information of the patient is collected from outside via electronic communication system. The collected information is transferred to the health care for various uses.
Advantages
Improved Access to Healthcare
Since telemedicine mostly uses telecommunication technology for making healthcare available, it automatically removes multiple barriers to receiving medical help. The biggest benefit of telemedicine is that it allows the patient to get healthcare without having to personally visit the hospital.
This is very important for people with disabilities, the elderly, patients from far-off areas and post-surgical patients. The telemedicine apps can not only be used for e-visits but also real time monitoring of the patient condition. A survey showed that 93% of the physicians believe that telemedicine has improved access to healthcare.
Good Outcomes of Treatment
Since telemedicine allows real-time monitoring of patients, it improves the quality of care and its delivery. The data that is generated form this is automatically gathered in the apps and other electronic systems. The patients too can add their personal health information manually.
The doctors can then use all the right and relevant information of the patient and come up with a better treatment plan. This can help reduce readmission rates and occupation of the emergency room. The Veterans health administration reported that they saw a reduction of 51% in heart failure and 44% in other conditions.
Reduced Cost
Since the rates of readmission and occupation of the emergency room are reduced, it helps save a lot of money for the healthcare providers. Statistics reveal that on each emergency room prevented form visit about $300-$1100 were saved.
Telehealth also makes it possible to use outsourced remote health services such as, telepathology, teleradiology etc and avoid the cost of expensive medical equipment and special medical staff.
More Engagement of Patients
The telehealth apps increase the confidence of the patients because they know that they can reach their care provider anytime and with a few clicks from the comfort of their home. Good telehealth apps allow the patients to participate in their treatment process.
The patients are allowed to access their treatment plan, information about their general condition and the comments and suggestion of the doctor. This improves satisfaction of the patient.
Final Words
The experience of many care providers and patients proves that telehealth apps can be very useful to all the parties involved. It not only helps reduce the cost of getting the treatment but also reduces the chances of getting sick as the patient gets quality care with better delivery and is continuously monitored in real-time albeit remotely. Therefore, it is beneficial to enter the healthcare IT market with a well-designed software.