What are Telehealth  and  Telemedicine  ?

Telemedicine and telemedicine are terms that have been used for a long time to cover a variety of medical services provided through various media such as email, telephone or the Internet. While the form of remote health care has existed for decades, the new frontier is in physician-patient communication and health care through websites and programs that offer more services than ever before. As we see the development of more online services, we see that the terms telemedicine and telemedicine are being replaced by more specific search terms such as online doctor, online medical services and online healthcare. As technology advances, so do online medical services.

Many of us are familiar with websites such as  WebMD , government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or  MedLine Plus  , where we can find information about conditions and diseases. However, they are only information sites with little interaction. We use the term telemedicine to describe actual medical care as a result of direct, electronic communication between physician and patient.

Descriptive titles such as Doctor Door,  Live MD  , Virtual Doctor, and Online Physician better explain what online medical care is. Today, we can access the doctor live, 24/7, for advice and treatment. And it will only grow as more patients seek new ways to receive health care.

Let's take a look at a similar Internet boom. In the 1990s, the Internet created a platform that allowed colleges and universities to reach more students by interacting with content, faculty, and other learners. Online degrees and diplomas were once considered less than traditional brick and mortar schools. But, no more than where online education was once dubious in terms of credibility, it is now an attractive way for adult and working students to obtain degrees and certifications. In the fall of 2018, 6,932,074 students (National Center for Education Statistics) were awarded in online degree programs offered by graduate institutions.

Like education, considering the impact of online medical services in the future is neither too leap nor too early. In the 1960s, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and the US Indian Health Service teamed up to develop an advanced health care project in rural Papago to provide telemedicine services using similar technologies used by astronauts in space. The most successful use of medical technology in this period was in radiology. But with the advancement of technology in the 1990s, more services were provided. Doctors can provide long-term advice to the patient in real time.

The 21st century is fast approaching, and doctors, pharmacies, clinics, and even insurance companies have been offering unimaginable online medical services for the past 15 years. Bandwidth, digital cameras, smartphones, and high-speed Internet connections have opened up new platforms that doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists may have access to more patients.

An organization specializing in online physician services has already been established with the American Telemedicine Association to provide resources, libraries, case studies, etc. for online physicians to help develop their practice, and to the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians. Join.

What services are provided?

Technology is rapidly moving towards providing platforms that may open up more avenues for providing quality and appropriate healthcare. Smart homes built with sensors and devices that can detect specific health problems and send information directly to your doctor about potential concerns. Japanese companies are estimated to make more than $ 5 billion in revenue in the United States with their smart home technology that can detect medical conditions.

Smartwatches can now provide accurate heart rate readings along with reports of fitness and physical activity. These advances are seamlessly moving into the new field of telemedicine. Smartphone apps are being developed for people to measure blood pressure and heart rate.

Forbes Magazine reports that more than 80 percent of physicians use smartphones and medical applications in their practice and have the ability to improve patient self-monitoring by sending information directly to the physician. As mobile devices and applications become more personal and secure, more health information can be passed directly to your online doctor.

Traditional office services usually include delayed appointments, long waits in doctor's waiting rooms, exposure to other germs, seemingly short doctor-patient time (most physicians are able to spend only 15 minutes per patient due to workload), and They are often involved in billing and insurance issues.

Now imagine being able to meet and talk to a doctor almost instantly via an internet connection and digital camera. New online services can provide 24/7 access for doctors, medical assistants or nurses. The amount of time a healthcare professional spends online consulting with patients is less of a problem than an appointment at the office. This is due to reduced patient burden (office physicians often have more than 2,000 patient burdens vs. less than 500 for online physicians) and services often at fixed rates ($ 50 to $ 99 per session per model for services Receives a small fee).

There are always certain medical conditions that require a visit to the doctor's office, such as X-rays, scans, special laboratory tests, and so on. However, online doctors are able to diagnose and treat infections, colds, flu, respiratory infections and more. Prescriptions may be taken to pharmacies, and patients never need to go to a crowded doctor's office for disinfection and disinfection.

Some specialist physicians are now available through telemedicine, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, and dermatologists. Many behavioral health issues can be treated online, from depression, stress / anxiety, grief counseling, addiction and more. Dermatologists can assess conditions such as rashes, moles, acne or skin infections through an electronic platform. Radiologists can remotely scan scans and other images and provide accurate results to doctors. With the advancement of technology, the number of specialist doctors also increases.

Let's talk about the benefits of health care providers

In 2030, for the first time in U.S. history, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that people over the age of 65 will outnumber those under the age of 18. What does it mean for health care?

As the United States ages, more health care services will be needed to meet the care needs of older patients. With the retirement of older doctors and nurses and the shortage of 139,000 doctors and more than 600,000 nurses by 2030. These shortages are the result of retirement or leaving the profession due to burnout of health care professionals. It is important that health care provides ways to attract and retain physicians and nurses as well as support staff.

According to the Agency for Research and Quality of Health Care, part of the Ministry of Health and Human Services, studies show that nearly 50 percent of physicians report some form of burnout in their work. The reasons given for this dissatisfaction are stress, turbulent environments, time pressure and lack of control. The result is that doctors quit training with an unprecedented number. But it also takes into account the quality of patient care and safety. Telemedicine can address several of these issues by providing more flexible programs, more free time, and a better work-home balance for physicians and nurses. For this reason, some physicians prefer to provide online primary care physician services through a variety of technologies and centers.

There are several factors to consider when discussing financial costs versus the rewards of traditional and online medicine.

The American Medical Colleges Association estimates the cost of a medical degree at an average of $ 214,816 for internal and public medical schools and $ 264,564 for an internal and private medical school. Add to that the cost of setting up a medical office, which is estimated at $ 120,000. This is a lot of debt. Compare traditional office costs with an estimated $ 20,000 to $ 25,000 to build an online office  (AMD Global Telemedicine)  .

This new field of practice also offers the soft benefits that health care professionals want. We are witnessing the development of online physician group methods that provide the benefits of traditional group practice to online physicians. However, with fewer patients (physicians who provide Internet services see approximately 25% fewer patients than traditional physicians), more attractive hours, increased free time, and the ability to determine the cost of their services. Many newer services allow the doctor to travel while providing services.

What about patient benefits?

Where to start? Online medicine provides almost instant access to the doctor, at any time, every patient's dream scenario. Online medicine does not offer waiting times. It is forbidden to sit in the doctor's office with people who may be infected without travel time. As we see many rural hospitals closing and, consequently, physicians' offices being relocated to larger communities, telemedicine can be especially useful in providing patient care to those with limited resources.

Online doctors have the same credit as office doctors and have a board certificate and operating license. The main differences between these two types of operations are availability, number of patients, time spent in direct patient care, cost, and no need to travel. Due to the fact that there are some conditions and diseases that require additional tests and laboratory results, online physicians can refer to other physicians, outpatient diagnostic centers or clinics. Patient information, recorded through electronic health records, is often stored in a cloud, allowing online clinics to instantly access and update patient records needed for quality care.

Surveys of patient satisfaction with those receiving online care show very positive results. The Annals of Family Medicine  conducted a limited, patient survey that measured patient satisfaction with results that showed that individuals surveyed indicated the convenience and convenience of remote appointments and their cost. The results of additional studies show that patients were interested in continuing to see the primary care physician via video conference.