Telemedicine or telemedicine is in fact a general concept used to describe various aspects of telemedicine care. Telemedicine is a skill that uses multimedia tools and using a large number of modern technologies, creates a kind of independence of time and place in the field of medical services, which of course requires a different and expensive set of tools. Will be communication infrastructure. Telemedicine is also used to educate, provide patient databases, artificial intelligence, and support management systems. But the easiest to use is electronic consulting, which is easily accessible  .

This technology can be used in weaker countries than it is useful for rich countries. In a country like Iran, where the transportation network is less developed and it is difficult due to the dispersion of the population in some places, including mountainous and difficult-to-pass areas, and the increase of the elderly population and standardization of medical care, telemedicine can make a better diagnosis. And help patients get sick faster and make better decisions about their treatment, reduce the time wasted on some critical illnesses, and reduce costs .

In many cases, medical visits are only to show the answer to the test, drug extension, imaging answer, or mental questions. Certainly, with the help of telemedicine, the burden of these unnecessary referrals can be greatly reduced, and this burden of non-referrals can be reduced. It is essential in the outbreak of infectious diseases that hospitals themselves can play a significant role in the spread of infection.

- Significant reduction of traffic load and naturally air pollution

- Access to doctors in very distant and difficult ways

Reducing the economic costs associated with transporting and transporting patients

Reducing the false need to train more specialized and sub-specialized physicians in sparsely populated and remote areas, but according to health economics, there is no justification for the physical presence of physicians in those areas.

Accelerate medical services

- Creating psychological security in people and patients to access the doctor 24 hours a day

The use of telemedicine as an alternative to the current and traditional method of patient visits and treatment, in addition to facilitating access, has greater benefits for patients and providers. Reduce travel costs and avoid wasting patients' time in clinics and clinics, increase the time and quality of child and elderly care, increase patient privacy and talk to a doctor in a friendlier environment such as the living room and protect people from exposure Other communicable diseases in medical facilities are among the things that patients who use this platform can benefit from. On the other hand, increasing income, improving administrative productivity, reducing the number of cancellation patients, improving the level of access of online providers to patients and benefiting The benefits of telemedicine for health care providers include the experiences and consultations of other specialists in various fields and the correct diagnosis .

Although the terms Telemedicine    and   Telehealth are  often used interchangeably, there is a distinction between the two; The term   Telehealth   encompasses a wide range of technologies and services to care for the patient and improve the overall health system. While telemedicine specifically refers to telemedicine services, telemedicine can be related to non-clinical services such as provider training, office meetings, and continuing medical education in addition to clinical services. 

Visit by a doctor online

This type of visit does not take the place of the classic primary medical visit and can only be used as an aid to counseling that does not require examination, such as showing tests, radiological images, counseling questions, and…

In the current context, the idea of ​​digital healthcare seems more appealing than ever. Online visits can be a great help to health care workers. The medical industry in most cases affects physical interaction, although the doctor checks the pulse, uses a stethoscope, and ... Despite the corona virus, this The methods have been largely suspended.

What technology should doctors have?

The technical infrastructure required for a remote visit depends on several factors, such as the patient's location and the type of treatment required. There are also different ways to provide these services to patients, such as:

Network Connections  - Remote care clinics are connected to larger health care centers via the high-speed Internet. Therefore, part of any telemedicine interaction requires patients to be present at the telemedicine interaction first. Before starting to interact with the medical center, the medical staff prepares the examination room with diagnostic equipment (in preparation for communicating with the physician).

Point-to-Point  Connections - Connecting smaller remote units to a larger central health care system via high-speed Internet. For example, low-income clinics can receive special care from specialists from larger clinics in the same health care system.

Remote Patient Monitoring  - Provides remote care for patients seeking immediate and more access to health care for situations that are not urgent. In this type of approach, digital communication is used between patients at home and in the health center.

Digital Health Care - Awareness, Access

Telemedicine has the  power to fill in the gaps that have been exposed to you due to the current situation. Just like the video conferencing solution, which did not mean that people would stop traveling to and from work, but would provide a more accurate option if necessary. Virtual health care can easily assist in providing primary care such as follow-up, second opinion and most importantly screening patients to see if they need in-person counseling. Telemedicine increases operational efficiency for physicians, reduces the burden on hospitals and treatment centers, while providing greater reassurance to patients with better support and feedback.

Developing countries need telemedicine programs in many situations, when doctors are scarce, when specialist doctors are not available, when patients in rural areas connect to other specialists with telemedicine doctors. . In addition, the requirements of telemedicine programs for developing countries are somewhat higher than for developed countries. Indeed, for successful telemedicine applications in developing countries, more social, organizational, and technical aspects need to be considered .