Telehealth is becoming more and more popular as a way to deliver and receive healthcare. It grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were unable to see doctors and other medical professionals in person.
And it continues to be popular for a number of purposes, with a number of different technologies in use to provide it. Telehealth can involve using computers, mobile devices, phone calls, apps, and more to deliver phone calls, video calls, and other ways of communicating with and monitoring patients. Telehealth (also called telemedicine) is helping people to access the healthcare they need, even when they might not have had very good access before.
It can help in multiple ways, making healthcare much more accessible and improving its quality too.
Greater Access to Healthcare
One of the best benefits offered by telehealth is that it can make healthcare a lot more accessible. For people who live in more rural or remote areas where healthcare isn’t as easy to access, telehealth makes it much easier to make and attend an appointment with various services. Rather than having to travel to appointments every time, patients can discuss their health needs remotely, only having to travel when it’s important that they’re seen in person.
Telehealth also improves accessibility for people with other circumstances that could make it difficult for them to travel. This could be due to disability or either physical or mental health issues, or perhaps even other problems such as abusive or unstable home lives. Telehealth services and products mean that these people can make and complete appointments much more easily.
More Convenient Appointments
As well as making it easier to access healthcare from any location, telehealth also makes healthcare appointments more convenient in other ways. People can save time and money by making use of telehealth services. They can fit appointments around their other commitments, removing the need to spend time getting to and from the appointment. It’s easier to fit an appointment into their day, and some people even have their appointments at work or while sitting in their car. The time of day that they schedule their appointment is less important if there’s no need to try and get it before or after work. Online scheduling also makes scheduling, managing, and canceling appointments easier.
More Personalized Care
Telehealth can make healthcare more personalized in a number of ways. Many telehealth providers use tools that help them to personalize their services. They are able to approach patients on a more individual level, especially when they have the help of technology enabling them to get to know and keep track of important things about their patients. By providing more personalized service, they can support patients in better ways. Patients can find the right provider more easily and get the medical care that they need from a dedicated healthcare provider, rather than having to deal with multiple different providers.
Access to Specialists
Access to specialists in different types of health can be much easier to access with telehealth. One example is the ease with which people can now find specialists in hormone replacement therapy. What is hormone replacement therapy? It’s a type of treatment offered to people with hormone imbalances, which is often a problem for both men and women as they get older. Telehealth can offer people dealing with hormone imbalances the opportunity to get the treatment that they need from a dedicated provider that puts them in control. This is true of many other types of specialist care too, making it easy for people to be in charge of their healthcare and find the providers that they want.
Remote Health Monitoring
Telehealth services can be combined with remote health monitoring, which can be carried out in different ways. Wearable health technology is one of the tools used by some healthcare providers to monitor their patients’ health. They can get permission from patients to share their data so that they are able to monitor key health metrics such as their blood sugar or heart rate. Other patients might use tools to keep track of their health, such as using a journaling app, which they can then share with doctors and other healthcare providers. Telehealth providers might also encourage the use of devices or apps that give notifications of required medication or exercises.
Better Communication Between Providers
Telehealth tools are also used to create better communication between providers, as well as between providers and patients. Virtual tools make it easier for doctors to get input from other specialists. Multiple people in different locations could attend a consultation for a patient or discuss their needs. By communicating using email, video calls, or even online portals for sharing information, healthcare providers can easily swap notes or offer advice so that they can work more effectively as a healthcare team. Patients receive better care because it’s easier for professionals to consult with each other.
Secure Access to Medical Information
An online patient portal can give patients access to their provider’s services, as well as their own medical information. It can be a lot more secure than email, providing a better way to communicate regarding personal issues. An online portal could provide a tool to book appointments, message providers, ask for refills on prescriptions, review test results, and various other tasks. They can be used together with other telehealth tools or with in-office visits. A personal health record system also gives patients access to their medical information.
Infectious Disease Control
Telemedicine is also an excellent tool for helping to prevent the spread of infectious illnesses. When patients don’t need to see doctors, nurses, and therapists in person, they can remain at home and avoid spreading germs. They can still receive the medical advice that they need, which often doesn’t require a face-to-face visit, but it keeps other people safe and healthy at the same time. It allows doctors to pre-screen for infectious illnesses before in-person appointments too.
Telehealth uses technology to give people access to the medical services that they need, saving them time and money, and more.
