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Why MMJ Patients in California Are Still Using Telemedicine to Get a Medical Marijuana Card

Telemedicine is an incredibly fast-growing industry that’s only going to expand further in the future. There are so many benefits to accessing health care through technology – everything from consulting with a specialist not geographically close to you, to getting a diagnosis through a video chat with your doctor. One of the fields where telemedicine is being used even more is related to medical marijuana. Even though recreational marijuana is now legally available in California, there are still tons of reasons to get a medical marijuana card. In addition to getting to avoid that pesky sales tax and having the opportunity to grow more plants, using telemedicine to get a medical marijuana card couldn’t be easier. The super-simple process means you can steer clear of doctor’s office waiting rooms and use online services, like MMJRecs, to get your cannabis card.

Clear-cut pricing

Using telemedicine to get a medical marijuana card means you won’t have to succumb to any of those hidden fees or increased prices that you might be stuck with going to a regular doctor’s office. When you use a site like MMJRecs, you’ll get straightforward prices with a flat rate. If you just need an MMJ recommendation from a doctor, you only pay $59. For the doctor’s recommendation and an ID card, it’ll run you $84. The best deal is the package option that includes the recommendation, ID card, and a grower’s permit for just $149. Plus, if you aren’t approved for an MMJ card, you have a 100% money-back guarantee!

Divan Medical - stethoscope

Telemedicine is really revolutionizing the way MMJ patients access their treatment.

Easy-to-complete online forms

Going to a regular physician instead of using telemedicine to get a medical marijuana card can mean you have to fill out a bunch of forms about your health history and symptoms (not to mention all that other paperwork you have to complete any time you visit the doctor’s office). However, if you use telemedicine to obtain a cannabis card, you can simply fill out a quick and easy form online. You’ll be asked basic questions about your health condition and how using marijuana could help alleviate your symptoms. The forms don’t take long to complete, so you won’t be bogged down by paperwork.

Online doctor evaluations

It can be a stressful, time-consuming process to visit your doctor’s office. You have to make an appointment, coordinate transportation, and spend your valuable time in a waiting room. Using a site like MMJRecs means you can have a consultation with a licensed physician without ever leaving your home. They’re available round the clock, every day of the week. More than 420 doctors are selected from the California Medical Board Licensed Marijuana Doctors. The physicians are also all HIPAA (Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)-compliant, so you can be sure your private and sensitive information stays that way. The physician will then look over your information with you on a video call (all 100% online) through your computer or on your smartphone – so you can even conduct the consultation while you’re on the go! Most of the evaluations end up taking less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

Instant email delivery of your recommendation

Once the doctor has discussed your medical needs, they’ll go over the benefits and risks of using marijuana products. If the physician believes it would be in your best interest to get a medical marijuana card, they’ll immediately email you a legal medical marijuana recommendation. You can instantly print it out and use it at most dispensaries and delivery services throughout the state. Just the day after, you’ll also be sent an official, embossed recommendation mailed to your home address (which serves as a valid form of documentation for your MMJ card).

Divan - money

Using telemedicine to get a medical marijuana card can help you save valuable cash.

Exclusive discounts and offers

 

After you receive your MMJ card, you can access exclusive discounts from the MMJRecs site, as well as medical marijuana dispensaries and online stores. These discounts (along with the savings you’ll get without paying sales tax on your products) can significantly help decrease your cannabis costs. If the dispensary of your choosing offers a rewards program, you should definitely sign up. They can offer deals or coupons (like a percentage off your first purchase) or even provide store credit bonuses. You could even earn rewards if you recommend other MMJ users to their store. These savings can help demonstrate how much more beneficial having an MMJ card can be versus just buying cannabis products for recreational use.

If you think your health could benefit from consuming medical marijuana, you can easily complete these simple steps, using telemedicine to get a medical marijuana card today.

Why Telemedicine is the Perfect Aid for Obese Patients

In today’s world, we use technology to assist us with pretty much everything. Whether we’re using an app to order dinner or telling Alexa to add milk to the grocery list, we rely on technology to help make our lives easier and to make us more productive. That’s why telemedicine is an increasingly important field – why not use technology to make us healthier too?

Recent studies have shown that telemedicine can be an extremely helpful tool for patients who are obese. Connecting with doctors remotely or getting assistance in tracking eating and fitness habits can all greatly improve a patient’s chances of losing weight and more successfully managing their health.

With improvements in technology, obese patients who live in a rural area or are far from their doctor’s office can now use telemedicine to access reliable, quality health care – right from the comfort of their own home. Individuals who used to have to eschew care due to residing in remote areas can now coordinate care with their health professionals through emails and online video chats. This easy access to their physicians (including specialists, nutritionists, fitness coaches, etc.) can now help make their health care that much more manageable.

Patients working with their doctors remotely found they were able to receive better assessments of their condition and were more likely to create and follow programs for both nutrition and physical activity. They were also more likely to be screened for risk factors, which then allowed them to be able to implement strategies that would best fit their health goals. This personalized health care plan is so much more effective than the one-size-fits-all programs that are often used in traditional medicine – what works for one patient just might not work for another, meaning that individualized programs through telemedicine will often be more useful and efficacious.

For patients who don’t live in rural areas but still don’t have reliable or consistent transportation options, conducting appointments online can also be helpful (since they can end up eliminating the time and costs related to traveling to access medical care). Additionally, many obese patients are faced with serious mobility issues, which can severely limit their ability to make it to a doctor’s office or hospital. Even with handicap parking permits, some obese patients still aren’t able to physically get themselves to a doctor or weight loss center. That’s why telemedicine can take away the concern of being mobile enough to get to an appointment.

Divan - stethoscope and phone

Telemedicine can benefit obese patients in so many ways.

Obese patients who need to see specific specialists in other areas can also benefit from using telemedicine services. Instead of being limited to just the physicians in their area, telemedicine can provide access to any doctor in any location who can truly best support the patient’s needs and goals. This type of health care also means a patient’s entire team of medical professionals can work to coordinate their care (since it’s easier for a team to connect online with each other rather than face-to-face).

Perhaps the most significant way telemedicine can aid obese patients is by helping them better monitor their symptoms and their progress towards obtaining a healthier lifestyle. Many people who use their smartphones to download weight loss-related telemedicine apps are able to reach their goals because they have a clearer, more realistic picture of their health. These self-monitoring apps can lead to overall weight loss, as well as positive changes to eating habits and increased physical activity. Apps that come with coaches or direct feedback from health care providers prove to be even more impactful (since a second party can help provide motivation or advice to patients).

Divan - scale

Advances in technology are helping obese patients improve their health and get their weight back on track.

There are also technological devices that can help obese patients using telemedicine. There are some device packages that come with a scale, a blood glucose monitor, and a communication gateway box, which sends all of the patient’s data to a server, where a medical professional can monitor the data. When the patient gets the device, their doctor will set pre-established thresholds that match their specific measurements or needs. Then, if the individual’s numbers go outside these parameters even slightly, their doctor will be immediately notified.

This access to timely and accurate readings can help patients partner with their doctor to better adjust their behaviors. This also means that as the patient, individuals aren’t stuck trying to decipher their measurements or interpret the findings; all of that will be done when the data is sent remotely to the health professionals monitoring their care.

Not only can telemedicine help obese patients achieve their goals of weight loss or better fitness, this type of technology can also make their connection with their health care team that much stronger. Trust between a physician or other medical professional can greatly boost a patient’s confidence in coming up with and sticking to a manageable plan for improving symptoms.

Telemedicine can be helpful in several ways, including assisting patients in making clear goals for themselves, measuring those goals along the way, and helping them team up with their doctors for overall management of their health. With advances in telemedicine, obese patients now have an even clearer path to a healthier lifestyle.

Online Consultation Vs. In-Person Consultation: What’s The Difference?

We all know that going to see the doctor can be a major source of hassle; unfortunately, many of us put it off because it seems like such an ordeal. We all know that can be a serious mistake, but we’re all guilty of it at some point or another in our lives. If you live far away from your doctor, then this can compound the problem, making what should be a simple, routine trip into something far more time-consuming and stressful. Add in specialists to the mix, or a number of follow-up visits, and having something wrong with you can seriously drain your resources and time.

Telemedicine is here to change all that. Although it might sound like a new program, it’s actually a few decades old, though has been gaining traction recently due to the acceleration of digital technology. When it was first introduced, it was utilized to help patients who had no access to a doctor receive the medical support they needed. This was originally done via means of a telephone, hence the moniker “telemedicine.” For the next few decades, telemedicine remained an outlier service, which was useful in small amounts to a select group of people. In recent times, however, the technology has advanced to a point where telemedicine can benefit everyone in the healthcare system; in fact, the telemedicine revolution has already begun, and as digital technology develops further, the movement will continue to ascend.

Divan Medical - doctor looking at X-ray

Depending on your condition, your doctor might be able to view your results and make diagnoses using telemedicine.

So what are the main differences between online consultation vs. in-person consultation? Well, for starters, patients aren’t just limited to phones anymore. There are a large number of digital devices that can be utilized for telemedicinal practices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs, as well as a huge number of telemedicine apps that aid and assist patients and doctors alike. As it stands in 2018, these all fall under the ever-expanding umbrella of “telemedicine.” The major concern most people would have is that if you’re doctor isn’t physically looking at you, how can you be sure he’s going to catch all the symptoms you might be presenting? You would essentially be relying on your own communication skills to explain your symptoms to the doctor, which might not be the best course of action.

In fact, research into online consultation vs. in-person consultation has shown that this is not the case. A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that for certain cases of routine, common illnesses such as flu and sinusitis, consulting with an online doctor could be just as effective as visiting one physically. In fact, some patients with routine conditions were able to get diagnoses from their healthcare physicians by simply updating their symptoms via their online profile. The only marked differentiation between online consultation vs. in-person consultation was a slight increase in the number of antibiotics prescribed via telemedicine. So the research proves that telemedicine is just as effective in the early stages of a condition, and if that condition proves to be a minor, common one, treatment can proceed in exactly the same beneficial manner as it would with a person-to-person doctor visit. The only variable is that both the patient, and the doctor, have saved a serious amount of time.

Divan Medical - telemedicine

Telemedicine is revolutionizing the health care system, evening out the playing field between online consultation vs. in-person consultation with doctors.

It’s not just time that patients can save. A recent study in the widely-respected Health Affairs journal reviewed the effectiveness of a particular online clinic, examining over 40,000 cases, and came to the conclusion that this particular online clinic reduced patient’s costs by an average of $88, when compared to an in-person consultation. Furthermore, 98% of the patients said they would recommend the service to others. Telemedicine isn’t just about physical visits to doctors, however; many people use the service to purchase prescriptions or progressive medical treatments, which again saves them time and money. Patients can visit sites like MMJ Recs or Dr. Handicap to avail of medical marijuana identification cards and handicap parking permits respectively. These things matter a great deal in the lives of those who need them, so being able to access them through telemedicine is a real gift.

Ultimately, the goal of telemedicine is to provide a better form of healthcare to those who need it. The program results in fast diagnoses and increased supervision, costs the patients less money, and saves both patients and medical staff time, which is a valuable commodity in the face of a burgeoning healthcare system. Some people will initially be distrustful of not seeing their doctor in-person, but the studies show that an online consultation is no different from an in-person visit in terms of treating the most common illnesses. So the next time you feel phased about going to the doctor’s office, why not hop online and give telemedicine a try? In today’s instantaneous, digital-led world, it’s most definitely part of the future of healthcare; so jump on that train now to be ahead of the curve, and find yourself healthier as a result.

How Telemedicine is Revolutionizing the Lives of Busy Professionals

The biggest complaint that people seem to have about modern life is that it’s too busy and crazy. In today’s world, we are being pulled in so many different directions and it can be so difficult to find a moment to engage in self-care. With professional responsibilities becoming ever more present in all facets of our lives, and social media ensuring that are social lives are broadcast performances, it can be hard to take care of ourselves at a basic level. That’s where telemedicine can help.

Trying to find time to visit the doctor can prove impossible to do alongside working full-time. Most doctor’s clinics only open during office hours and they can be inflexible in accommodating working professionals. Similarly, not all jobs offer paid leave to attend medical appointments, so sometimes you may literally be asked to choose between money and health. However, there are many new advances in telemedicine ensuring that busy professionals are having their health care needs properly met.

Telemedicine is not a new phenomenon, but it is experiencing a new renaissance thanks to smartphone technology. Simply put, telemedicine is the delivery of health or diagnostic advice via the means of telecommunications technology. It has been used since the advent of the emergence of telecommunications technology, usually to serve people in war-torn remote places, but it is now far easier to access thanks to smartphones.

Divan Medical - man with tablet

As a busy professional, you’re probably already using smartphone and tablet technology constantly – why not put it to use in your health care, too?

While it may seem odd to use your smartphone to access this kind of technology, it really couldn’t be easier. Firstly, depending on the service you pick, you can either make a formal appointment or drop in to a virtual waiting room. When it comes time to see a doctor, you will be connected via the camera on your smartphone. After this, it’s just the same as seeing a doctor in person. They will ask why you have come for an appointment, talk you through your symptoms, and ask you to move your camera to look at any physical symptoms, if you have any. Then they may order further tests or send a prescription to you. This all happens from anywhere that you happen to be. It couldn’t be easier.

As well as working around your busy schedule, telemedical doctors will make your life even easier by doing the hard work for you. If they feel that you need further tests, they will send a letter to you, detailing what needs to be done so that you can take it to a specialist. If you require a prescription, they can have it sent to your local pharmacy, so that your medication will be ready and waiting for you when you go to pick it up, saving you even more time. In today’s busy world, what could be better?

The key advantage of telemedicine is that its main purpose is to make the lives of its users easier. As well as the advantages listed above, telemedicine also empowers its users to take charge of their medical histories. Usually, it can be a tenuous and difficult process to access your medical records from a traditional doctor’s clinic. However, with telemedical providers, your records are stored centrally, in a way that they can be easily accessed by patients if needed. This also means that if you happen to see a different doctor, they can easily access your records to provide you with the best care possible in light of your medical history.

Divan Medical - tablet

Using telemedicine instead of visiting a doctor in-person can save busy professionals so much valuable time.

If you commute a long way to work, have limited mobility, or live far away from your doctor, telemedicine can truly revolutionize your life. Instead of messing up your daily routine to grab ten minutes with a traditional doctor, wait until you get back to the comfort of your home to grab a consultation with a telemedical doctor. You don’t have to mess up your daily routine, and you won’t lose any of your precious leisure time by diverting yourself to the doctor’s office, even if you’re lucky enough to get an appointment outside of office hours.

The truth is that telemedicine is truly changing the lives of busy professionals. We live in a world where we have higher and higher expectations on us from work thanks to mobile technology, but this technology can also help us to make our lives more efficient. Why wait in a germy doctor’s waiting room when you can chat to a fully qualified doctor from the comfort and privacy of your own home? Why traipse from doctor’s office to pharmacy to wait to have a prescription filled when your telemedical doctor can make sure that your medication is ready and waiting for you when you get to the pharmacy? Take back your life and your personal time. The power is in your hands and on your phone!

Telemedicine And The Law: 7 Things You Should Know

Telemedicine is the treatment of patients through the use of telecommunications in situations where the health professional and the patient are not in the same area. As developments in telecommunication technologies have expanded the capabilities of telemedicine, the use of telemedicine has increased dramatically. And with the wide adoption of this form of health care comes a whole list of laws to consider, both as a medical practitioner and as a patient. So let’s take a look at what you need to know about telemedicine and the law.

As medical practitioners try to keep up with the constant stream of new laws and safely navigate the gray areas in this dynamic, shifting environment, there are some who will be hesitant to give telemedicine a chance for fear of accidentally overstepping legal boundaries. Equally, some patients are likely to be overwhelmed by the changes, and this may make them decide against telemedicine when it very well may be the best option available. However, with time, the undeniable effectiveness and cost-efficiency of this industry will guarantee that its laws accurately represent both doctors and patients. This will leave health practitioners feeling confident working with telemedicine to bring the vast number of benefits it provides to patients across the country.

Knowing your rights allows you to ensure you are kept safe, legally. With that in mind, we’ve created a list of 10 things you should know about telemedicine and the law.

1.  Telemedicine Doesn’t Include…

According to Health Care Law Today, telemedicine doesn’t include “audio only” phone calls, email, or fax correspondence. Images and videos must supplement any form of communication in order for it to be considered telemedical. medicare.gov confirms this.

Divan Medical - laws

It’s important to familiarize yourself with telemedicine and the law to ensure you’re being treated right as a patient, or treating your patients right as a medical practitioner.

2. Telemedicine Is Only Available If…

In order to qualify for telemedicine, you must be located within a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). As well as this, they must be seeking one of the following types of medical health facilities:

  • A physician
  • A hospital
  • Community mental health center
  • Rural health clinic
  • Critical access hospital
  • Skilled nursing facility
  • Federally qualified health center
  • Renal dialysis center

3. Telemedicine Isn’t a Substitute

Telemedicine does not overrule the need for bedside contact or a patient-doctor relationship; nor does it substitute standard medicine. It is supplemental and to be used in times where traditional medicine is not feasible.

4. Telemonitoring is Not Always the Way

Telemonitoring relates to the control of vital signals at a distance, through systems not dependent on any particular doctor and often portable by the patient. These systems send alarm signals to remote control centers. There are many scenarios in which telemonitoring should not be used. For example, if a patient has a disease, illness, or wound that which may require urgent care, then relying on telemonitoring may be considered malpractice.

Divan Medical - doctor in lab

In some cases, in-person treatments or observations are required by law in addition to (or instead of) telemedicine.

5. Telemedicine is Both a Health Care Service and an Information Service

This means that regulations regarding both types of service are applicable to telemedicine and both should be considered as a medical practitioner. For example, information services have their own laws regarding privacy of information.

6. Telemedicine is Still Young

As telemedicine is still in its early development stages, the laws surrounding it have yet to deal with all of the intricacies it brings. This means both patients and health practitioners may be unprotected in certain ways. It also means that already established laws may evolve or be entirely redefined.

7. The Laws In Each State Differ

As the approach taken to telemedicine and the law differs significantly from state to state. It is important not to confuse the telemedicine laws of one state with another. Both the doctor and the patient are expected to uphold the law of the state in which the patient currently resides.

Despite the fact that every state’s laws, regulations, and Medicaid program policies differ, there are certain ideas that are consistent throughout. For example, live video Medicaid reimbursement persistently exceeds reimbursement for remote patient monitoring and store-and-forward (the process by which information is sent and stored in a halfway station to be sent at a later time to the final destination).

So there you have it: the top seven things you should know about telemedicine and the law. Keeping them in mind, you’ll be better able to protect yourself, both as a patient and a health practitioner. As telemedicine is built on telecommunications, the constant and rapid advancement in telecommunication technologies means that the capabilities of telemedicine are developing at an astonishing rate. This is, of course, an incredibly positive thing. It will help improve the physical and mental health of many patients in rural, isolated areas, patients with limited mobility, and patients with anxiety disorders. At the same time, it will also help to reduce health care costs, which can, in turn, be used to fuel even better health care – a positive, upward cycle. However, it is important to realize that with such rapid developments, the laws surrounding telemedicine will likely also change rapidly. With that in mind, if you have any skin in the game, keep yourself informed and your information up-to-date.

How Telemedicine Is Revolutionizing Support For ESA Owners

The increased availability and popularity of telemedicine services across the United States is great news for many people and groups. It is a particularly good development for emotional support animal patients. Over the last few years telemedicine has truly revolutionized support for ESA owners, as well people who wish to become ESA owners. It is a very exciting time to be an emotional support animal patient!

Let’s talk about some of the ways in which telemedicine is making it easier than ever before to become an ESA owner and enjoy the wonderful benefits emotional support pet ownership brings.

Telemedicine refers to any type of medicine or medical consultation that is done remotely using modern communications technology. Communication between a health care professional and a patient via smartphone, tablet, laptop, or any other type of mobile device (usually using the internet) is called telemedicine. Super-fast broadband and highly powerful modern computer technology have made it easer than ever before for a patient and their health care provider (who can now be located anywhere in the entire country, or even abroad) to have fast, reliable, high-fidelity, and secure consultations.

Telemedicine brings a whole host of benefits to emotional support animal patients. For those of you who are still in the dark about this health care phenomenon, an ESA is an animal companion that provides company, friendship, love, and a calming influence to a patient who suffers from some form of mental illness. Many different psychological conditions qualify a person to become an emotional support animal owner. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, phobias (such as fear of flying), chronic stress, acute loneliness, or even suicidal thoughts are mental health conditions that qualify a person to become an emotional support pet owner. ESAs have special rights under American federal law. A certified ESA can live with its owner in rental accommodation that is otherwise “no pets allowed.” It can also travel with its owner in the cabin of a commercial airplane. In order to become an emotional support animal owner, a patient needs to get a letter from a registered mental health professional stating that the patient would benefit from owning an emotional support pet.

Divan Medical - emotional support dog

There are so many benefits to emotional support animals, and thanks to telemedicine, more and more people are able to experience these benefits.

An emotional support animal letter can be acquired by doing a consultation with a registered mental health practitioner, such as Moosh, online or over the phone. For many people, due to their specific life circumstances, getting their ESA letter via a telemedicine consultation is a much easier and better option than going through the time-consuming rigmarole of attending a practitioner’s office in-person.

Getting an emotional support animal letter after having a telemedicine consultation is much easier for the many ESA patients who live in remote parts of the country. For some people, getting to their nearest mental health practitioner requires a long journey by road or even by plane. From some very remote places, a journey to visit a health care provider in person could take an entire day or more. Telemedicine is a lifesaver for these patients.

Some ESA patients also suffer from mobility issues, either relating to their mental illness or not. Many people who suffer with PTSD are also amputees or otherwise long-term disabled. These folks, even with the use of a disabled parking permit, can often still find getting around pretty difficult. For these people, being able to do their ESA consultation over the phone or online is a godsend.

For people whose local mental health practitioner is very busy and has a long waiting list, it can also be a much quicker process to get their support pet consultation done using telemedicine.

Divan Medical - woman with ESA cat

Getting a certified support pet has never been easier than in today’s age of technology and telemedicine.

Some folks are just a little bit picky about who they want to discuss their mental health problems with. If they live in a small town in which “everybody knows everybody,” they may prefer the increased privacy and anonymity that comes with consulting with a mental health professional in a separate and distant area via telemedicine.

For a great many ESA patients, it’s really just a matter of saving time. In the modern world a lot of us have very busy schedules, and if we can get a telemedicine consultation – that would usually take a few hours in person – done in 20 minutes online, that is a huge help and a service well worth seeking.

It is also possible to have a consultation with a vet using telemedicine, and for pretty much all of the reasons we’ve just stated (distance issues, more choice, time saving), many ESA patients find it more convenient to use telemedicine for their emotional pet’s veterinary needs.

So it certainly is the case that telemedicine is revolutionizing support for ESA patients. In so many ways, telemedicine is making life much easier for ESA owners, and their pets!

Why is Telemedicine Becoming So Popular?

If you’re hearing the word “telemedicine” everywhere and wondering where this trend has come from, you’re not alone. Thanks to smartphone technology, telemedicine is making a massive impact upon the health care landscape and is truly revolutionizing the lives of patients. As well as bringing medical expertise to the comfort of patients’ homes, it offers convenience and value, and empowers patients to be able to make better informed decisions in relation to their health care.

Telemedicine has been around for as long as telecommunications technology has been. It can be defined as the use of telecommunication and information technology to convey medical advice and health care. Radios have been used to convey health care throughout the twentieth century, particularly in war environments. In the current climate, smartphones are making it easier than ever for doctors and other medical professionals to provide health care to patients over the phone using video chat facilities to provide a quick and easy avenue to health care for all kinds of patients.

Divan Medical - woman using smartphone and laptop

Accessing medical care from the comfort of your own home has never been easier thanks to technology and telemedicine.

So how does a telemedical appointment even work? It’s way easier than you think. Usually, you’ll either make an appointment or log onto a website to get an appointment. If your medical professional is not immediately available, you’ll go to a virtual waiting room, where you’ll hang out until they’re ready to see you. As the consultation begins, you will discuss your issue with whoever you’re seeing. They may ask you a number of questions about your symptoms and lifestyle as they would in a face-to-face consultation. They will use the camera feature on your phone to do a video chat to enable the consultation. They may ask to see physical symptoms and will advise you on the best way to recover. If you require further physical testing, such as blood tests or X-rays, they can write a referral letter; if you need a prescription, they can send it directly to your pharmacy, saving you time and hassle.

Why are patients choosing telemedical appointments instead of in-person ones? Convenience is a huge issue. In today’s busy society, many doctor’s offices have chosen to not offer flexibility to patients who may not be able to get an appointment outside of office hours. If you can attend a consultation from the comfort of your own couch instead of schlepping to a random doctor’s office, why wouldn’t you? This is also a massive advantage for patients who have limited mobility, who may find it much easier to combine busy lives alongside a disability by choosing to partake in medical advice via telemedicine.

Another reason that telemedicine is becoming increasingly popular is that it is usually cheaper than going to a traditional doctor’s appointment. Due to fewer overheads, telemedical companies can usually offer incredibly competitive rates for their patients which traditional doctors may struggle to match. Many telemedical doctors work from home and so they don’t have to combine office costs alongside other charges associated with running an office. People are becoming far more conscious of their money, so it’s a no-brainer to pick telemedicine in this case.

Divan Medical - devices

If you have a smartphone, tablet, or computer, you can utilize all the benefits of telemedicine!

It is also often easier to access your medical information if you are a patient who uses telemedicine. Your records will usually be kept in a centralized database that can be easily accessed by the patient at any time. In a traditional doctor’s office, your records are usually not easily accessed and you have to submit a request to view them or to have them sent to another establishment. With telemedicine, you are empowered to view your own information and to make decisions based off what is in your records.

While the advantages of telemedicine are clear, it is also important to do your homework to ensure that you see a medical professional who is fully qualified to practice. It is far easier to exercise quality control when you see a doctor in person, so you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions about the telemedicine company that you might use. Any reputable organization will be more than happy to provide you with whatever information that you need to put your mind at rest, so be wary of anyone who seems wary or skittish about providing standard information in relation to qualifications and regulations. Professionals will want their patients to be comfortable and luckily, most companies will be more than happy to do whatever it takes.

While you may be currently questioning why this phenomenon is so popular, once you start using telemedicine, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start earlier. Its ethos is that it is totally centered around patient comfort, confidentiality, and convenience, so it’s no wonder that it’s so popular. As technology progresses, telemedicine will too – so get in on the ground floor and watch how it changes the way that you interact with your doctor forever!

Telemedicine and MMJ: How Patients are Getting Educated on Their Perfect Strain

Telemedicine is revolutionizing the way in which patients access health care – and this doesn’t just mean antibiotics and the contraceptive pill. Telemedicine is even educating patients who need medical marijuana, and as the market can be a bit of a jungle, it is even helping them find out which strain can treat their illnesses. The power of telemedicine is in education, so it’s not surprising that telemedicine and MMJ are being utilized together more and more.

Sadly, laws relating to medical marijuana vary across the United States. While marijuana is still an illegal drug at a federal level, some states have legalized it for use for medical reasons. Some states, such as California, have quite relaxed rules and others, like New York, are a bit stricter. As medical marijuana can treat several conditions, including but not limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, anxiety, depression, and multiple sclerosis, it is no wonder that it is being used more and more by patients who are looking for an alternative treatment to harsh pharmaceuticals.

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications technology to deliver diagnostic or medical advice. While it has been in existence for nearly as long as telecommunications technology itself, it is experiencing a renaissance now thanks to the rise of smartphones. It is allowing patients to take control of their health care with affordable, flexible, and reliable health care on the go. It’s really no wonder that patients are now combining telemedicine and MMJ.

Divan Medical - medical cannabis

Telemedicine and MMJ combine perfectly to help patients access the treatment they need.

Before you embark on using telemedicine for medical marijuana, though, it’s very important to be aware of the laws in your state. For example, if you’re in California, you’re lucky enough to be able to get a general medical marijuana letter and you’ll be able to pick your own method and strain of medical marijuana. However, in other states, you may have to rely on your doctor to prescribe you a specific strain. Either way, patients can use telemedicine to decide which strain will be the best for their condition.

When using telemedicine, it is really easy for patients to access medical marijuana. Simply log on for a video consultation with a doctor who specializes in medical marijuana and they will discuss the best type of MMJ for you to take. This is where telemedicine can be very helpful to patients, as many doctors are not familiar with medical marijuana or are unwilling to prescribe it due to unfair stereotypes about its use. When you’ve had a discussion with your doctor via telemedicine, they will issue you with a medical marijuana letter, which can be used as a medical marijuana card. Then, depending on your state, you will be able to access the type of medication that you need to properly treat your illness.

Like any medication, different types of medical marijuana work differently for different conditions. To understand this, we must look at the makeup of marijuana as a drug. It can be made up of cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or a combination of the two, alongside hundreds of other kinds of cannabinoids. The types of medical marijuana are so varied that using a doctor who is specialized in the area is essential in properly treating your condition.

Divan Medical - MMJ

Through telemedicine, it’s never been easier for your doctor to prescribe you the right strain and delivery method for your MMJ.

Certain strains are relaxing, which is perfect for people who suffer from anxiety, migraines, post-traumatic stress disorder, and insomnia, amongst others. Other strains would be classed as more stimulatory, which can be useful in treating bipolar disorder, back pain, and ADHD. There is no perfect solution for any condition and a lot of work can go into experimentation with both strains and the ways in which they are delivered. If you are embarking on this kind of experimentation, the best thing to do is to maintain a constant dialogue with your doctor. This is where telemedicine and MMJ partner so well together. As telemedicine offers a flexible and adaptable way of seeing your doctor, you can check in with them from the comfort of your own home instead of dropping everything to attend an appointment that is hard to get and even harder to fit into your life.

Medical marijuana can be consumed via smoking, vaping, edibles, tinctures, and even lotions applied to the skin. This is just the tip of the iceberg. In discussion with your doctor, try each one out until you find something that works and that can fit in with your life. You want a treatment that works for you that you don’t have to make too many lifestyle changes for. For example, if your apartment bans smoking, there’s no point in treating your anxiety with an MMJ joint that needs to be smoked.

Telemedicine is changing the lives of all kinds of patients, but it is especially helpful for people who are seeking treatment that is not fully understood by the medical community at large. It allows specialist doctors to reach patients who really need help, so log on to a site like MMJRecs and meet a doctor who can help you change your life!

Which 5 Free Telemedicine Apps Should Be On Your Phone?

Telemedicine has become extremely popular over the last few years. With the rise of mega-powerful smartphone and mobile device technology, more and more people are opting to save time (and money) by getting their health care needs met remotely, online, using telemedicine.

There is now a plethora of new telemedicine apps clamoring for attention, vying to meet the needs of this relatively new and rapidly expanding market. As a consumer who is new to telemedicine, the sheer volume of choices can be a little bit daunting. So to help you make sense of the deluge, here are five excellent free telemedicine apps that really should be on your phone.

MDLive

MDLive is a free app that offers its users “Virtual Care, Anywhere,” and it very much does what it says on the tin. MDLive is a one-stop-shop for telemedicine health care, offering 24/7 access to the largest network of fully certified telemedicine doctors, physicians, and specialists available anywhere in cyberspace. MDLive offers fully secure and private consultations with health care professionals on your schedule, any time of the day, night, week, or year. MDLive doctors treat an impressive array of medical conditions ranging from physical health problems such as allergies, ear/nose/throat issues, cough, flu, respiratory problems, UTIs, and vomiting, to mental health problems such as addictions, stress, depression, and panic disorders.

Using MDLive, you will usually be consulting with a physician within 15 minutes. MDLive physicians can prescribe drugs and have the prescription sent to your local pharmacy. MDLive is one of the more reputable free telemedicine apps that is easy, quick, and single-handedly covers a great deal of your telemedicine needs. Available from Google Play and iTunes.

Divan Medical - man with smartphone and computer

With so many free telemedicine apps available, it’s never been easier to carry a doctor in your pocket.

Text4Baby

Text4Baby started life as an SMS service that sent helpful text messages to women who were either expecting or in the first year of motherhood. The texts answered their most pressing questions and helped them through the often difficult and confusing process of being a new mother. Now there is a Text4Baby app and it is the ideal accompaniment to the original message service. The app (which is run by the National Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Coalition) is free to download and use and has helped almost one million women through their pregnancy and the crucial first year of motherhood. New moms always have a ton of questions and Text4Baby is a doctor-recommended app that answers literally any question an expectant mom could possibly think of in no time at all.

As well as answering questions, the Text4Baby app also provides reminders of upcoming appointments and meaningful dates, updates on how your baby is growing and developing, and quizzes so you can test and improve your baby knowledge. If you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, Text4Baby is one of the free telemedicine apps that should take pride of place on your smartphone. Available from Google Play and iTunes.

MyFitnessPal

Prevention is always better than cure. With that in mind, MyFitnessPal is one of the most important free telemedicine apps on the market right now and should definitely be on the front page of your smartphone. MyFitnessPal is an invaluable tool in your health care toolbox as it allows you to keep track of how you are really living your life day to day.

How many calories are you taking in? What types of foods and drinks are you consuming? How much physical activity are you doing? All of these questions are of crucial importance for your overall health and fitness, and they are all meticulously tracked and monitored by MyFitnessPal. Using MyFitnessPal diligently will enable you to fine-tune your lifestyle for optimal health. Available from Google Play and iTunes.

Divan Medical - woman using smartphone

Whether it’s fitness tracking, baby advice, or a medical consultation, there’s a telemedicine app for you.

LiveHealth Online

LiveHealth Online is a top-notch telemedicine app. It allows you to speak to a certified, US-based health care professional face to face any time of the day or night. Downloading the LiveHealth Online app to your smartphone or mobile device means you can consult with most types of health care professionals (including physicians, doctors, therapists, and dietitians) at any time with zero waiting and no appointment necessary.

Once you download the app and set up an account (both of which are free to do), you can have consultations via live video feed. Consultations typically cost $49 and are often covered by insurance (depending on your plan). If you require a medical prescription, the doctor you consulted with will send the information to your local pharmacy and you can pick it up there. Adding LiveHealth Online to your arsenal of apps could be a genuine life-saver! Available from Google Play and iTunes.

Amwell

Amwell is a similar app to MDLive and LiveHealth Online. The Healthline website voted it “Best Telemedicine App of 2016” and so, despite its similarity to other apps, it deserves a place on your smartphone (it’s always good to have options, especially when it comes to telemedicine). Amwell allows you to consult with a certified medical practitioner at a time that suits you, day or night.

Costs range from $45 for nutrition counseling, to $200 for an initial online psychiatry consultation, and are often covered by insurance. Amwell doctors can send a drug prescription to any pharmacy for collection. Amwell is one of the top free telemedicine apps, and really should be available on your smartphone for whenever you need it. Available from Google Play and iTunes.

Can I Use Telemedicine to Get an Emotional Support Animal?

Emotional support animals, or ESAs, are often misunderstood in the media, but the truth is that they are an essential tool that can help people lessen the symptoms of their emotional or psychological conditions. Some people mistakenly feel that an emotional support animal is just a glorified pet, but these creatures can actually help to treat conditions such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and panic attacks. The truth is that as well as being pets, emotional support animals offer a unique form of support to their owners that allows them to live their best possible lives.

The problem with getting treatment from an emotional support animal is that many people who would benefit from them are self-conscious about seeking treatment and are unsure of the best people to speak to in order to get their pets certified. The good news is that, thanks to telemedicine, the process has never been easier.

Telemedicine is the process of delivering health or diagnostic advice through telecommunications technology. While it is experiencing a boom now through the advent of smartphones, it has been used in many guises since telecommunications has been invented. Thanks to smartphones, more and more patients are using telecommunications to access excellent health care, often at more convenience and at more affordable prices.

Divan Medical - emotional support cat

Emotional support animals can be an amazing form of therapy and treatment for people with emotional disorders.

So, how can you use telemedicine to get an emotional support animal? Well, first you need to know how emotional support animals become certified. To qualify as an emotional support animal, your pet needs an official document called an emotional support animal letter. This can only be obtained from a qualified medical professional, but the good news is that telemedicine completely facilitates you getting your ESA letter.

The first step is that you either make an appointment or “drop in” to an online telemedicine clinic (such as Moosh). You may have to wait to see a doctor in a virtual waiting room, but once you’re in with a medical professional, it’s just like seeing a regular doctor in person. You will use the camera on your phone to speak to the doctor and explain why you need an emotional support animal. They will ask about your condition and how the pet supports you, and you’ll be given an opportunity to discuss the ways in which your pet could act as an emotional support animal and to get advice from the medical professional. Then, if you are deemed suitable, the doctor will provide you with an emotional support animal letter, which will act as a legal document for you to ensure that your emotional support animal receives protection under the law. The letter is signed, stamped, and dated and is valid for one year, so if you wish to continue to register your pet as an emotional support animal, you’ll need to have another appointment to renew your documentation.

There are so many perks to using telemedicine in this way, but the key advantage for many people with the conditions that can benefit most from ESAs is that it allows them to see a non-judgmental medical professional in a way that is convenient for them. Sometimes, medical professionals who are not as educated in emotional support animals can be overly judgmental about people seeking this treatment. In using telemedicine, it is much easier to seek out someone who specializes in this treatment and who is used to seeing and treating people just like you.

Divan Medical - man with dog and computer

In the new age of telemedicine, it’s never been easier to get your pet certified as an emotional support animal.

If you suffer from a condition that makes it difficult for you to leave the house, it’s also very helpful that you can use telemedicine from the comfort of your own home. The paradox is that often, in getting an emotional support animal, you will feel less anxious and more able to leave the house and live a happy and fulfilled life, but your symptoms can often make it very difficult to get the documentation you need to properly access this treatment. When you get a telemedical appointment, you’ll be able to speak to someone openly and honestly from your own home, comfortable in the knowledge that they won’t judge you and they’ll be happy to give you the advice and documentation that you need.

You may already be getting the benefits of an emotional support animal from your regular pet, but if you have the documentation, you’ll be able to get benefits while traveling or renting a home that would not be open to you otherwise. In using telemedicine to access these benefits, you’re empowering yourself to take control of your own life and health with the help of telemedical professionals who want to make sure that patients get the chance to access the medical care that they need without any fear of judgment.

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