Telemedicine is the virtual delivery of health care services to remote areas and increases patient engagement. WHO (World Health Organization) defined this term as “healing from distance”.
The basic difference between telehealth and telemedicine is that telemedicine includes clinical events and is physician-focused.
Telemedicine is of the following 3 types
⦁ Real-time Interactive medicine
Physicians provide immediate medical advice to the patients. It includes consultation and assessment through phone or video technology
⦁ Store and forward
Patient history, medical reports, or documented information are sent to the specialist by providers
⦁ Remote patient monitoring
It involves monitoring of patient health and clinical sign of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, chronic heart disease, and asthma.
There are many benefits of telemedicine as compare to traditional health care services.
Some of which include:
⦁ Telemedicine increase access to physician care
Tele medicines make it possible for you to consult with the best specialist, not the closest physician for serious health issues. You can consult your doctor through a mobile device or computers and save time and transportation costs. Telemedicine reduces your waiting time also.
⦁ Telemedicine reduces the chances of spreading disease and getting a new illness
When you video visit via telemedicine technology you don’t have exposure to other patients and there is no chance of getting an illness from other patients and transmission of your disease to others.
⦁ Telemedicine enhance high-quality patient care
Telemedicine providers feel satisfied by providing high-quality care as it makes it easier for them to meet patients. Patients can consult their doctors as to when required for their health condition and medications.
Telemedicine is simply the use of technology to achieve telehealth. It is very easy to get telemedicine through mobile or computer. You just need to make an online account and request a visit by submitting basic information on your conditions.
Telemedicine should be used with an in-person meeting to make it more effective.