Telehealth in Covington has become a vital way through which doctors offer medical services to their patients. This medical practice covers a wide range of health services and is mainly beneficial to patients residing in remote areas and those who do not wish or cannot go to the hospital. Your doctor uses teleconferencing to share information and monitor your health condition during your appointment. The best part about telemedicine is that your doctor can help you locate a specialist when special care is needed to ensure you receive the best treatment. Telehealth has many benefits to both the doctor and the patient. For instance, it enlarges the patient scope for the doctor and saves transportation costs for the patient.
Is telehealth different from telemedicine?
Telehealth and telemedicine are terms people use interchangeably. The confusion is less of a surprise because the two terms encompass similar services, including patient consultation through video conferencing, medical education, electronic patient monitoring and electronic transmission of medical reports. However, the definitions are different in their technicalities. While telehealth is a vast term that includes all the health services a healthcare provider offers using telecommunications technology, telemedicine narrows down explicitly to the clinical services a patient receives through technology. Additionally, telemedicine entails a healthcare provider offering patients different medical services, whereas telehealth involves several general health services, including public health services.
What are the benefits of telemedicine?
- Convenience and accessibility
Though telemedicine was initially a means of addressing medical care shortage, especially in remote areas, the practice is now a worldwide option that is convenient and accessible. It is also convenient to individuals who have several reasons why they cannot meet up with their doctors physically. For instance, telemedicine is ideal for elderly patients with mobility problems. Telehealth has made it possible for such patients to receive quality care from their homes. Thanks to telemedicine’s ability to overcome geographical barriers, patients can access specialists in different fields, miles away, by videoconferencing.
- Saves on resources
Telemedicine is the way to go if you think of cutting down on avoidable and unnecessary medical-associated costs like transportation. Conditions that require frequent doctor appointments and unnecessary tests significantly increase healthcare costs. Fortunately, embracing telemedicine has allowed patients to save on finances and time spent on traffic and endless hospital lobby queues.
- Enhances patient engagement
Traveling thousands of miles to contact a specialist is a bygone thanks to telemedicine. With patients scattered everywhere, telemedicine has made it possible for patients to engage their doctors more often in an interconnected world. Additionally, the medical practice enhances patient-doctor relationships, enabling the patients to feel more empowered to handle their care.
- · Quality care
Follow-ups are easy with telehealth, making sure everything goes well. Whether the patient is consulting the doctor after getting discharged from the hospital or remote monitoring to examine a patient’s heart, telemedicine offers the recipient quality care.
There are several ways doctors can use telemedicine to enhance their patients’ health significantly. Besides making it possible to access patients remotely, doctors can also use digital medical care to care for their patients who avoid going to health facilities because of the perceived public stigma.
Contact your doctor for more information about telemedicine to know how you can benefit from the medical care.
Johnson