Telemedicine refers to providing patient care remotely with the help of technology without the physical presence of the care provider and the care receiver. Modern technology has enabled healthcare professionals to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients remotely using telecommunication and various IoT-based solutions. The concept of telemedicine is gaining popularity for the apparent reason of convenience (and, of course, safety at a time like the one we are currently in). It is becoming an increasingly important part of the modern healthcare infrastructure.
Telemedicine involves communication systems and networks to enable a synchronous or asynchronous session between the patient and the provider. It is conducted in several ways, from a basic video conference tool to a more advanced and secured regulatory compliant telemedicine platform comprising workflow processes, patient portal, appointment management, audio/video/text conference facility, remote monitoring, IoT-based applications, e-prescription, and payment gateway.
The convenience of the patients is the most significant advantage of telemedicine. Patients can avail themselves of the patient care from the comfort of their home when convenient for them, even outside the ‘regular working hours, if there is a need. This also saves a significant amount of time for patients. They would have spent traveling to and from the healthcare facility and avoiding the (often) long waiting time commonly experienced at the healthcare facilities. This allows the reduction of infection risk, which the patient would have exposed themselves to by visiting healthcare facilities considering many other patients there. Telemedicine also facilitates continuous efficient monitoring of patients who require such monitoring. Telemedicine opens up the possibility of quality healthcare since it gives the ability to the patients to reach out to the healthcare providers of their choice located at any part of the globe, thus eliminating one of the most significant drawbacks of the in-person consultations where the patients have to live with the limitations of the care providers locally available.
Telemedicine is a cost-effective alternative to conventional healthcare delivery since healthcare providers do not need to spend large sums of money on building and managing healthcare facilities typically required for traditional healthcare delivery. Telemedicine allows expanding the patient base for the providers since they do not need to only focus on the patients residing near where the providers are located. Telemedicine has brought in a whole new work culture resulting in increased efficiency and reduced resource utilization, making telemedicine a cost-effective alternative to traditional healthcare delivery, making quality healthcare affordable to more patients. Not to forget, telemedicine has given birth to an entirely new business segment relating to specialized products and services exclusively relating to telemedicine.
Although telemedicine is slowly replacing conventional healthcare delivery, it certainly cannot be a complete alternative to the former since many conditions require a patient’s physical presence, like significant surgeries or emergencies. This is a drawback of telemedicine. In the absence of physical examination of the patients, the healthcare providers rely upon the ‘self-report of symptoms by the receivers, which can be inaccurate and misleading, resulting in wrong diagnosis and treatments. Another drawback of telemedicine is the acceptability by the insurance companies for reimbursements since the concept of telemedicine is still relatively new and doesn’t have all the required regulatory framework to manage it.
Although the concept of telemedicine is primarily technology-driven, contrary to the belief that it is a relatively new trend in the healthcare infrastructure, this concept is about a century old. In 1925, a cover of Science and Invention magazine showed a doctor diagnosing a patient by the radio. Within envisioned a device that would allow for the video examination of a patient over distance. However, the concept of telemedicine has been through a remarkable evolution in the past few years, and it is becoming an increasingly important part of the healthcare infrastructure thanks to technological advancements. Telemedicine can solve the lack of accessibility to quality and affordable healthcare to all, the issue the healthcare system is currently struggling to tackle.
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