As digital technology continues to grow more and more powerful, our society is shifting to better help meet our needs. Despite countless medical advances, the health system has remained largely unchanged in terms of the way it operates; patients have something wrong with them, so they schedule a meeting with a doctor, go and confer with them, and then avail of some kind of treatment. It’s been this way for centuries, even if the methods of treating illnesses have progressed incalculably. However, with the advent of telemedicine, the method that patients use to interact with their doctors has changed for the better.
Telemedicine refers to the practise of clinically consulting with your doctor from your home, using a telecommunications device. The idea is not new, and has essentially been around since the invention of the telephone; however, with the advancement of digital technology and the prevalence of smartphones, tablets and other powerful handheld gadgets, telemedicine is in a position to take a giant leap forward in the healthcare arena. But how it exactly will it benefit everyone? Here’re five reasons why telemedicine could improve your health.
1 – It’s Fast
Because telemedicine doesn’t require you to visit a doctor in person, it can be an extremely fast way of detecting signs of critical conditions like a stroke or a heart attack, and can be used to advise patients on whether they need to take a trip to the emergency room or not. Also, it’s fast in another way; you can get referred to specialists quicker, and the general practise of contacting your doctor takes much less time out of your day, leaving you to focus on other elements. Previously, for some people, a trip to the doctor’s office would constitute a large portion of a given day; the speed of telemedicine allows you to get the healthcare you need at a much quicker pace.
2 – It Can Get You Access to Better Specialists
Speaking of specialists, telemedicine can help patients, especially patients in remote areas, access the best specialists possible. Traditionally, you were bound to whatever local specialist was available for your specific condition; with telemedicine, your local health care practitioner can recommend the best specialists from all over the country, allowing you to choose form the wealth of experience they offer. There’s no need to be tied down to the local specialists anymore; telemedicine is opening up whole new doors for patients, which can only improve the country’s general health.
3 – It Helps You To Not Put Off That Doctor’s Visit
Let’s face it, doctor’s visits are extremely easy things to put off, but they really shouldn’t be. Deep down, everyone knows that they should listen to their body and immediately go to a doctor when they instinctively know something’s wrong; however, very few of us actually act on that instinct immediately, sometimes with catastrophic results. For some reason, we always find a way to convince ourselves either that we’re fine, or that we’ll book that appointment tomorrow. Telemedicine takes the ‘event’ feeling out of a doctor’s visit, and allows us to incorporate it seamlessly into our routines. It helps us to not put off that nagging feeling we should see a doctor, which is essential to maintaining a healthy disposition.
4 – Patients Can Get Access to Treatments From Home
If a patient happens to be disabled, it might be incredibly tough for them to physically reach a doctor’s office, let alone see one on a regular basis to avail of the healthcare they need. Even something as simple as a handicap parking permit might be out of reach for a disabled person, despite it being a valuable tool for them to improve their life with. It’s not just physically disabled patients either; mentally disabled patients might be incapacitated and not capable of benefiting from a variety of treatments.
Through telemedicine, these patients can avail of progressive new therapies like Emotional Support Animals, all from the comfort and convenience of their homes.
5 – It’s the Way of the Future
As digital technology continues to evolve, telemedicine will continue to evolve with it. 2017 was a big year for the advancement of the healthcare industry, and 2018 looks to be no smaller. Telemedicine has already proven its worth in a variety of ways, and all signs point to it being rolled out all over the country in the coming months and years. From helping patients with chronic conditions manage it themselves to providing patients in rural areas with reliable, responsive healthcare access, telemedicine is a major benefit to patients everywhere. In order to be in the best position to benefit from this progressive leap in technology, start investigating if telemedicine can help you right now, and join the wave of digitally-involved healthcare.