Telemedicine had an unprecedented year in 2017 and is currently taking the country (and world) by storm. This surge in interest in the new health care trend has been unprecedented in recent times, and this looks set to continue into 2018 and beyond. Despite the current ascent of telemedicine, it is not in fact a new idea; telemedicine has been around for decades. But when it was first introduced, it was only applied in relation to telephone-aided health care, and was seen as an outlier practice, set up to help those people who had trouble getting to a doctor avail of the health care they required.

The lay of the land is quite different sixty-odd years later. Thanks to the rise of smartphones and the prevalence of digital technology everywhere we turn, telemedicine has been able to be incorporated in to the medicinal arena in ways that its inventors couldn’t conceive of, and is now becoming a major initiative in the ever-changing field of health care. Commodities like Netflix and WhatsApp have gotten us used to having things on demand – an instantaneous delivery of the things we want to engage with. Telemedicine operates no differently, and can, in one sense, be thought of as “medicine on demand.”

Doctors everywhere are using telemedicine for the benefit of both themselves and their patients.

This is of course not the only application of telemedicine, but it fits right in with the way the world operates in 2018, and constitutes a large part of why telemedicine is becoming so popular with patients (or potential patients). It gives people access to the health care they require when and where they need it; it also gives doctors more time in the day to attend to more patients, and recommend specialists from anywhere in the country, not just one that happens to be nearby their patient.

Going to a doctor’s office is hassle (and a little intimidating) for most people, but for some people, it’s downright impossible. The primary aim of telemedicine when it was established in the 1950s is still as applicable as ever today, despite the technological advancements. Patients who need to see a doctor but live in remote areas or are physically incapacitated can avail of health care via their smartphones or tablets, without needing to leave their house. They can also be referred to specialists for their specific condition and confer with these specialists without needing to leave their house. Instead of a telephone call, the patients can actually consult with their doctor to “face-to-face” via Skype or FaceTime, leading to better communication between doctor and patient, diagnosis, and treatment.

But telemedicine is not just about doctors and specialists having consultations with incapacitated patients; it is also a new channel for people to be prescribed and avail of medicine, without having to go and physically obtain a prescription. Take the new wave of medical marijuana legalization laws currently sweeping the U.S. MMJ is now legal in 29 states and counting in various forms, and patients can apply for their medicine over the internet, by seeking a certified medical marijuana identification card from reputed sites like MMJ Recs. By providing an online source for increasingly common medicine like medical marijuana, telemedicine is helping to take the heat of the health care system, allowing doctors to see more of the patients they need to consult in person.

Medical data can be transmitted easily via telemedicine, changing the way doctors, patients and specialists interact for the better.

Doctors are also better able to monitor their patients through telemedicine and allow patients to better monitor themselves. It is common practice for doctors to want to keep an eye on heart activity in older patients, yet they could previously only do this sporadically, when the patient came to see them. Through telemedicine, patients are able to send their doctor through any relevant information, or even upload data to the cloud in real time, allowing their medical team to get a broad perspective on their condition, and see if there’s immediate need for further action. Essentially, across many different conditions, the transfer of information is much quicker when it comes to telemedicine, which can only be a good thing when it comes to treating patients.

Ultimately, the practice of telemedicine is slowly revolutionizing the face of health care, and as it becomes more widespread and prevalent, it will surely be the go-to method of consulting your doctor for myriad reasons. On top of all the instantaneous benefits, it also saves the health system and patients money by cutting out administration costs for the former, and axing any travel expenditure for the latter. It also saves both parties time, which is an important factor when dealing with a constantly overworked health care system and diminished resources. When it comes to medical matters, time is the most precious commodity of all; the main benefit of telemedicine is that it saves time, and in the process, might just save more lives. Telemedicine is undoubtedly the future; but it is also the now.

You may be unfamiliar with the concept of telemedicine, but it is changing the lives of patients the world over. With the advent of new and emerging technology, we are all carrying our lives in our pockets via our smartphones. They cover everything from banking, to contacts, to diaries. They are everything in a small device – and they now cover health care too. While you would traditionally visit a doctor in a clinic or a hospital, it is now easier than ever to access health care via the internet from the comfort of your own home through the medium of telemedicine.

What is telemedicine? Simply put, it is the delivery of medical advice and diagnoses to a patient via the means of telecommunications. It may seem a bit unorthodox, but the truth is that telemedicine is revolutionizing health care for all kinds of patients. Women can access a prescription to a contraceptive pill without leaving the house. Parents can get advice on how to treat their sick kids, knowing that they’re doing the right thing, and medical marijuana patients can easily access advice and treatment without fear of judgment.

It can be difficult for people who need medical marijuana to be able to access treatment. While 29 states in the USA have legalized the use of medical marijuana, each state has its own rules for eligibility and there is still considerable stigma surrounding the use of medical marijuana to legitimately treat various conditions, including multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, cancer, and depression. It can be very difficult and intimidating for a patient to go into a doctor’s office and seek treatment with medical marijuana. Telemedicine can be a much easier and safer route for patients to get the treatment that they need.

MMJ patients have benefited in so many ways from the advent of telemedicine.

So how do you use telemedicine to access medical marijuana treatment? The good news is that it’s a really easy process. There are many medical professionals operating online who can offer you confidential medical advice and give you your medical marijuana card so that you can access the correct treatment. You simply log on to a registered and professional website like MMJ Recs, wait for a doctor to become available, and speak to them about your condition. If they think that you’re suitable for treatment, they will write a recommendation for you to get medical marijuana. The letter will be mailed to you, officially signed and stamped, and then you’ll be able to get the medication that you need.

Many patients who require access to medical marijuana have difficulty leaving the house due to a number of reasons. This could be agoraphobia and anxiety related to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or physical reasons relating to the severity of a condition such as Parkinson’s disease or ataxia. Patients like this may not always have access to a doctor who can provide home visits. In addition, home doctor’s visits are often more expensive than traditional clinic visits, so it can be problematic for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Telemedicine doctor’s appointments are usually even cheaper than going to visit a doctor in person, so are very suitable for people who may not have a lot of money but who need to visit a doctor frequently.

Now that telemedicine has come into play, it’s a much less stressful experience to consult with a doctor and obtain a medical marijuana card.

Depending on your state laws, there may be restrictions on the kind of medical marijuana that you can take. The best thing about telemedicine is that you’re not being rushed out of an office by a hassled doctor with a waiting room full of patients. You may have to pay a bit more for extra time, but a doctor who is working via telemedicine will not feel as pressured to rush you out and will be able to dedicate a little more time to answering any questions that you might have. They can guide you in relation to dispensaries if you are not familiar with the best way to purchase medical marijuana, and they can also tell you what strain of medical marijuana and which form to take it in is the best for you.

As marijuana is still illegal at a federal level, you will not get a medical marijuana prescription, but rather a recommendation. This is what you can bring to a dispensary in order to get your medical marijuana. Telemedicine is making medical marijuana patients’ lives far easier and has empowered them to be able to seek their own treatment that is the most appropriate for their illness. Telemedicine is easy and convenient, both for patients and medical professionals. There’s nothing better than knowing you’re carrying the best medical advice possible in your pocket and that you’re able to seek help whenever you need it.

It’s perhaps difficult to get our heads around this fact, but it’s true to say that telemedicine has been with us for nearly a hundred years now. We probably think of telemedicine in terms of video and Skype calls, or the emailing of scans and X-rays – things that could surely only have been available in the last decade or two! In fact, though, one of the earliest forms of telemedicine occurred in the 1940s, when radiology images were transported from one town to another via a telephone line. This was the start of it, but telemedicine has sure come a long way since those days!

The use of telemedicine today has spread rapidly and is now part of the fabric of hospital services, specialty departments, home health agencies, physician offices, and indeed patients’ workplaces and homes. Telemedicine encompasses everything from a simple telephone consultation or Skype call to digital scans and even the remote monitoring of intensive care units. According to the American Telemedicine Association, more than 20 million Americans will have access to a remote health care service by the end of 2017.

Let’s look at exactly why Americans are embracing telemedicine in droves and how telemedicine could benefit you.

Patients who live in remote locations in the U.S. are experiencing great benefits from the advent of telemedicine.

If you live in a rural part of the States, then simply traveling to see a physician or for a hospital appointment can not only be a huge challenge, but can also take up most of your day. Imagine how much time, energy, and money you would save if you were able to speak with your specialist remotely. It wouldn’t work in all cases, of course, but where you don’t actually need a physical examination it could be hugely beneficial.

Another group of people benefiting from the growing availability of telemedicine is the elderly. The number of elderly Americans is increasing year on year and, of course, as you get older, you are generally less mobile and need more care. Also, older citizens might find it more difficult to travel for every appointment, so to be able to speak with a health professional from the comfort of your own home would be a great benefit. Many senior care home facilities are now accessing telemedicine via videoconferencing. Patients can be viewed and observed by a physician in situ (a much more comfortable and amenable experience for them), a diagnosis can be made, and treatments or prescriptions prescribed. If all of this is done remotely it saves time and money as well as the problems associated with getting elderly patients from A to B. Add to those benefits a less harrowing undertaking for the patient and the fact that this type of care results in fewer hospital admissions, and you have an all-round winner when it comes to telemedicine and elderly care patients.

A further telling reason why the U.S. is embracing telemedicine is that there is currently a shortage of physicians in the States. This shortage is expected to worsen over the next few years. The increase of telemedicine can aid this problem simply because it saves time. Physicians can deal with more patients if they are seeing them remotely; appointments aren’t wasted through “no-shows”; consultation and diagnosis tends to be quicker remotely; scans and X-rays can be shared among experts without the need to actually meet in person and discuss the patient. The more consultations, treatments, and diagnoses of less serious complaints that can be done via telemedicine, the more time the professionals have to treat serious illnesses and conditions. We all benefit from that, right?

From patients right through to health care professionals themselves, telemedicine is providing a huge host of benefits.

Imagine, too, if a physician wanted to take on a new partner. He or she might need to carry out renovations or building works in order to add a new treatment room to accommodate this new partner. There’s an immediate expense, which would only in time be passed onto you, the patient. But if this physician could simply employ a new partner to work remotely with patients, they would only need a desk, a phone, and a laptop. Job done immediately and with little cost! Physicians from the same practice could work rotating schedules, thereby making someone available during out-of-work hours. Again, this allows the practice to treat more patients and gives the patients greater flexibility in accessing help and advice. Something that’s surely of interest to everyone – not least employers, as it means less appointments and consultations during working hours.

Health insurers have perhaps been dragging their heels a little in embracing telemedicine culture, but more and more private insurers are now starting to cover telehealth services. Many states are also coming on board by introducing laws and guidelines. The extent of insurers’ cover varies greatly at the moment and some employ geographical restrictions, so there’s a way to go yet, but we are heading in the right direction. The more health insurance companies that offer cover for telemedicine services, the more the services will be promoted and therefore used by patients. Most insurers can see the advantage for their rural members and some of the more far-sighted companies can see that telemedicine cover might attract businesses who want to offer a modern-day convenience as part of their employee package. Insurers are also hoping that telemedicine will mean less of their members ending up in the more expensive health care scenarios. This is all good news for the consumer. Less costs for our health insurer will mean lower premiums for us.

As you can see, there are many compelling reasons why the U.S. is embracing telemedicine and many ways that telemedicine can be of benefit to you, the consumer. As technology improves, these benefits will surely become even more apparent to us all.

Modern technology has revolutionized our lives. With the advent of smartphones, we have access to a range of services in our pockets. Hungry? Order takeout via an app. Need your brows fixed or a quick mani/pedi? There’s definitely an app for that. We track our steps, monitor our diets, and interact with friends via the little machine in our handbags, but did you know that there’s a way to take mobile health care to the next step? Telemedicine is the next new frontier in health care.

While it’s been around for over a hundred years, telemedicine is having a contemporary renaissance thanks to mobile technology. Simply put, telemedicine is the diagnosing and treating of patients via telecommunications technology. It is empowering patients around the globe to seek excellent health care at a fraction of the cost and at far more convenience to them.

How can one access telemedicine? Luckily for patients, there are several options available. It is possible to sign up with certain services to avail of unlimited health care at a flat monthly fee. Other services charge per appointment but it is up to each patient to pick the option that works best for them. The best thing about telemedicine is that it is easy and convenient. Traditional doctors may often only see patients during office hours, which means that it can be difficult to schedule an appointment if you work a busy and demanding job. With telemedicine, you will be able to see a doctor as and when it suits you.

Most people have a smartphone these days – which means most people can benefit from the convenience of telemedicine!

While it may seem unorthodox, the process of a telemedical appointment is actually very simple. Depending on the service you choose, you will either make a pre-set appointment at a time that works best for you or hang out in a virtual waiting room until a doctor is ready to see you. When you’re both ready, you’ll begin a video or audio consultation where you’ll speak openly with your doctor about your issue, just as you would with an in-person doctor. Depending on the issue at hand, you will either finish your consultation with professional advice or you can ask your doctor to fax or email a prescription to the pharmacy of your choice. No muss, no fuss, and everything is taken care of for you.

A benefit of telemedicine is that it is usually cheaper than traditional doctor’s visits. Increasingly, many insurance companies are also covering telemedical appointments, but this will depend on the specific plan that you have. In addition, if you are infirm, it is far easier to access a doctor via telemedicine than to leave the house, risking further injury, or to pay an extra fee for a doctor to visit your home.

One of the main ways that telemedicine is currently being used is for the female contraceptive pill. The nature of the contraceptive pill requires women to undergo a simple blood pressure check when they need their prescription renewed after six months. However, with telemedicine, this arduous process no longer exists. Women can fill out a simple survey online and then visit their pharmacist for the blood pressure check and then get their contraception.

Your pharmacist and telemedical professional can work together to make health care easier for you.

Another use of telemedicine comes in the form of counseling and therapy. While going to see a psychologist is necessary for many people in today’s stressful world, it is inaccessible to many due to the financial strain. However, there are now apps and websites that offer remote psychotherapy via phone calls, video chats, and instant messaging at reduced rates so that patients can access treatment as and when they need it. In this way, telemedicine is changing lives and making things far easier and convenient for patients.

The best thing to do if you’re thinking of beginning a journey on telemedicine is to pick a service that will allow you to keep all your medical records in one place. While you won’t always be able to see the same doctor, a centralized records system means that no matter which doctor you see, they will always have the correct information on hand from your past consultations to be able to offer you the best advice possible.

It may seem like telemedicine is a weird way to access medicine, but it truly is the way of the future. Why wouldn’t you pick an option that affords you flexibility and costs less? Telemedicine puts the power in the hands of the patient and removes the high cost of appointments and high stress that many patients face while visiting a traditional doctor’s clinic. The best thing to do is try it for yourself and see how it goes. You’ll be pleasantly surprised, with more money in your pocket and another app to add to your phone’s collection. What’s not to love?

You may not have heard of the term “telemedicine” before, but there’s a chance you might already be actively involved in it. Essentially, telemedicine describes the use of telecommunication and digital technology to provide clinical health care from a distance, i.e. not a regular face-to-face clinical visit that people are traditionally used to when they go and see a doctor. It started as a fringe service in the late 1960s and was first introduced in Massachusetts General Hospital by Kenneth Bird, originally to solve the patient backlog of employees and travelers at Logan International Airport, which was located three congested miles away from MGH. This primitive version of telemedicine incorporated a two-way audio-visual microwave circuit and treated over 1,000 patients.

These days, telemedicine is an entirely different ballgame. The advent of digital technology has spurred the movement on over the last ten years, and as it stands in 2018, we are on the cusp of telemedicine becoming a major factor in the vast and crowded arena of health care. From audio-visual microwaves, the format of communication switched to telephones, the first system of which was operational in 1989, and then finally digital communications, which include smartphones, tablets, laptops, and any other device that utilizes digital technology.

Digital communications technology has advanced medicine in more ways than many can imagine.

For most people, the word “telemedicine” might sound intimidating or foreign; the question soon becomes “How does it affect me?” In truth, the question you should be asking yourself is “How does it benefit me?”, as telemedicine comes complete with a whole range of advantages for patients and doctors alike. The main benefit is unchanged from the initial need to introduce the concept into the health care system: remote treatments. This doesn’t mean a literal treatment by remote control (though we might get there someday) – it means giving medical professionals the means to treat patients who are far away from them. These include patients who live in rural areas, where a trip to the doctor’s office is a mammoth operation, or those who are physically or mentally incapacitated, and because of the status of their condition, can’t leave the house.

This is of great benefit to both doctors and the patients that they treat. Patients can get seen to without wasting their entire day, while doctors can consult with more patients during the day than they normally would if they were seeing them in person. Another benefit of telemedicine is a wider access to specialists; previously, people who lived in remote areas were referred to whichever specialist happened to be close to them, whether they had a good reputation or not. Telemedicine gives patents the freedom to select a specialist who suits them best, whether they live in the countryside or the city. It puts more power in the hands of the patients, who often communally complain of being disenfranchised with the U.S. health care system.

Another advantage of telemedicine is the ability to avail of certain medications or services online. If you’re handicapped and can’t physically leave the house without specific provisions, then you can avail of benefits like a handicap parking permit from Dr. Handicap from the comfort of your own home. This removes the catch-22 situation of having to drive somewhere to pick up the permit in the first place. Another increasing trend in the health care system is the use of medical marijuana to treat all manner of diseases and conditions. If you live in one of the 29 states that has legalized medical marijuana, then through a site like MMJ Recs, you can easily be prescribed a medical marijuana identification card, which will legally allow you to avail of the medicine at local dispensaries.

There are so many benefits to telemedicine, both for patients and medical professionals.

Telemedicine also allows doctors to keep track of patients remotely and have the results of certain tests uploaded to them digitally. This removes the need for patients to stay in hospitals overnight for certain exams, freeing up hospital space for more intensive patients, and also allows doctors to get far more accurate results than they might if they were simply consulting with the patient for fifteen minutes. But despite all these advantages, the single biggest benefit of telemedicine for those in the modern age is the fact that it is immediate. Every single service or industry in our world is moving towards an on-demand system; we’ve seen Netflix practically extinguish traditional television format, and WhatsApp and other social messengers lay waste to old school telephone calls.

Telemedicine is aiming to do the same thing with traditional health care methods. Doing so will take more time and a more revolutionized approach than other industries, as the intricacies of health care are more nuanced. But the end result will be a better service and treatment for everyone involved, on both sides of the line. Taxpayers’ and patients’ money will be saved and better spent, while the quality of treatment will continue to increase as telemedicine becomes more prevalent. All in all, telemedicine will affect you, the potential patient, positively across the whole health care spectrum; it’s time to embrace the future!

Many people in the United States require the use of handicap parking spaces, and thanks to modern technology, getting a disabled parking permit with the aid of telemedicine is now simpler than ever before. Telemedicine is truly revolutionizing access to handicap parking permits.

“Telemedicine” is the word used to describe any type of medicine done from a distance using modern mobile technology. More and more members of the medical profession are offering their services to patients remotely using video links, Skype, and phone communication. Using powerful computer technology that is now available to everybody in the form of modern smartphones, laptops, mobile devices, and tablets, it is now easy for a doctor to communicate quickly, efficiently, and safely with a patient, even transmitting health informatics data and images over long distances instantaneously.

There are potentially millions of American citizens who qualify for disabled parking space permits. Parking permits are available for people who require them in all 52 states. But many people whose lives would be made much easier by the use of a handicap parking permit do not realize that they qualify for one, and so they go through unnecessary toil and struggle without one – often for years and years. It is an unfortunate situation, but one that telemedicine is going a great distance towards fixing.

Getting a disabled parking permit has been made much easier over recent years thanks to the advent of telemedicine.

The qualifying conditions for a getting a disabled parking permit vary from state to state. But they vary only slightly, and there are a host of health conditions that qualify a patient for a handicap driving permit in all US states.

The health conditions that qualify a patient in every state are: heart disease; arthritis; significant obesity; respiratory problems such as lung disease or emphysema; any illness that requires the use of a portable oxygen tank; bad eyesight or hearing; any chronic inflammatory disease (such as Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus); being an amputee; suffering from an acute sensitivity to sunlight that leads to a blistering or burning of the skin; having any injury or condition that means a person cannot walk a certain (state-decided) distance without needing to stop for a rest; and simply requiring the use of a Zimmer frame, walking stick, cane, crutches, or wheelchair to get around.

If you have any of these conditions, you are probably entitled to a handicap parking permit, no matter what state you live in.

To go about getting a disabled parking permit, you first need to have a consultation with a health care practitioner and obtain a letter stating that you require a parking permit. A letter from a doctor, physician, nurse, doctor’s assistant, optometrist or other type of health care professional will do the trick. Once you have your disabled parking permit letter, you fill in an application form and send the form and letter to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

An obvious problem that many people face is that most of the qualifying health conditions and disabilities make mobility difficult, and so getting to the doctor’s office in the first place can be quite an ordeal. This is where telemedicine comes in extremely handy.

Using telemedicine, a patient can do their consultation online or over the phone with a registered health care professional. The health care professional can then issue them with a letter of recommendation. This is very good news for patients who are immobile, because it means that getting a disabled parking permit is possible without leaving the comfort of their own home.

Thanks to telemedicine, there’s no longer a need for patients to travel great distances for treatment or consultation!

But immobility is not the only reason why using telemedicine is a far easier way for many patients to gain access to life-enhancing handicap parking permits. If a patient needs a disabled parking permit in a hurry, or if they just have busy lives and need to save as much time as possible, then doing their parking permit consultation using telemedicine is hugely helpful. The whole process is much less time-consuming when done using remote technology.

If a patient lives in an area with a very limited selection of health care professionals (or the available professionals have very long waiting lists), then by using telemedicine they immediately gain access to many more health care provider options. They can now consult with doctors or physicians from different areas, giving themselves a far wider selection to choose from.

Telemedicine makes it remarkably easy for people who live in very remote areas to do a consultation in only a few minutes (whereas in the past it would have required many hours of grueling travel). This is a luxury that folks who live in the deep desert or Alaskan wilds are certainly not used to, but it is improving their lives no end!

It is fair to say that telemedicine is revolutionizing access to handicap parking permits, and in the process, making life a little bit easier for a great many people who deserve a little helping hand!

These days, more and more people are choosing to use telemedicine instead of visiting their doctor’s office in person. Telemedicine has exploded in popularity in recent years, especially since the use of smartphones became widespread. Now that almost everybody has an ultra-smart, internet-connected mobile device close to hand, consulting with a medical professional effectively, in high-fidelity, and with complete privacy from any distance has become remarkably easy.

For those of you who are new to the conversation, “telemedicine” is the name for any medical health care provided at a distance using information technology such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Modern communications technology has made it possible for patients to communicate with their doctors over long distances, and now that even the most basic smart-devices can transmit images, health informatics data, and live video links across any distance, telemedicine is becoming a viable option for patients with more and more complex medical conditions.

As the rapidly growing number of patients who are now using mobile technology to get their health care needs met quickly and efficiently will attest, there are numerous advantages to joining the telemedicine revolution. Here are seven reasons why using telemedicine is better than sitting in a doctor’s office.

Is there anything worse than spending hours in a doctor’s waiting room?!

Telemedicine Affords You More Choice

If you are visiting a health care professional in person, you are necessarily limited in who you can choose based on the area you live in and what doctors operate in your locality. This is not a problem if you have a local doctor who you enjoy visiting. But if none of the health care professionals in your locality particularly float your boat, then you may be forced into the awkward situation of having to spend time with a doctor you do not particularly feel comfortable with. One of the great things about telemedicine is that it opens up a whole world of options to you. Using telemedicine, you can literally consult with a medical professional on the other side of the world if that’s what you want. Telemedicine affords you a ton more choice than regular, face-to-face medical treatment.

Telemedicine is Excellent if You Struggle With Mobility

For patients with chronic diseases and medical conditions that curtail mobility and require the use of a disabled parking permit, telemedicine is a huge help. Even with a parking permit, getting from A to B can be very difficult for people with chronic mobility issues, and so being able to communicate with a medical professional from their own home using telemedicine makes life a great deal easier for these people.

Using Telemedicine Saves a Lot of Time

Getting to a doctor’s surgery can take time. Driving time, finding a parking space (especially a handicap parking space), waiting in line… It all adds up! In the modern world most people live busy lives in which free time is at a premium, so any time-saving device is most welcome. Book an appointment online, and then simply make the phone call or log online at the allotted time. Telemedicine is quick, easy, and massively time saving.

Telemedicine is Ideal if You Need Medical Advice in a Hurry

At many doctor’s surgeries there tends to be a waiting list of several hours at the least, but often several days. This is no good if you need medical advice pronto. This issue does not arise with telemedicine. Because telemedicine is so much more time-efficient, waiting times tend to be very short. Using telemedicine, you can always communicate with a medical professional very quickly. If you need medical advice in a hurry, telemedicine tends to be a much better option than an old-fashioned face-to-face medical consultation.

Telemedicine is particularly useful for people who have to travel a long way to a physical doctor’s office.

Telemedicine is a Lifesaver if You Live in a Remote Location

One of the most obvious ways in which telemedicine is better than visiting a doctor’s office is that for some people who live in very remote locations, the nearest doctor’s office is a prohibitively far distance away! If you live in the middle of nowhere, getting to a doctor’s office can be a major chore, perhaps taking many hours, or even days. For people who live in a remote location, telemedicine is often a much better option than visiting a doctor’s office in person.

Telemedicine Allows You to Avoid the Plethora of Nasty Viruses and Germs That Live in Doctor’s Waiting Rooms

Doctor’s waiting rooms are often hotbeds of novel and exciting (to doctors, at least!) viruses and germs. And while the biologist in you might find these rapidly evolving species rather fascinating, they are usually best studied from afar, and in the abstract. A few hours in a doctor’s surgery can leave you sicker than when you entered. This is not a concern when you use telemedicine.

Telemedicine Makes Communicating With a Doctor Easier For People Who Require Medical Marijuana

Many patients who suffer with conditions that involve chronic pain require treatment with medical cannabis. If the patient is using a strong indica strain, then they may be quite lethargic and dozy. This can make getting to a doctor’s surgery somewhat difficult, and so for patients in this situation, telemedicine can be a very helpful alternative option.

It wasn’t that long ago that if you’d said the words “emotional support animal” to someone, they might have given you an odd kind of look. Nowadays, though, a lot of people have not only heard of emotional support animals – they actually own one. With recognized qualifying conditions – such as depression, autism, anxiety, and panic attacks – unfortunately on the increase, it’s no small wonder that folk are turning to companion pet certification instead of medication as an alternative to alleviating their condition. An emotional support animal is not just any old pet; it’s one that specifically helps you cope with your psychological or emotional disorder.

If a furry friend helps to relax you, or aids your confidence in social situations, or is simply a much-needed companion because you find it hard to leave the house – then what’s not to like about him or her? It’s easy to see why more and more people are turning to emotional support animals. In the past, it was believed that only a dog could fulfill the function of an ESA, but now it’s well-documented that more or less any type of animal can become an ESA. The choice is yours! So if you don’t like big animals, you could choose a rabbit maybe, or even a mouse. If you don’t like dogs or cats, then how about a pig! It’s not unheard of. Providing you qualify for and obtain your emotional support animal letter, you get to select your ESA.

An emotional support animal doesn’t have to be a cat or dog – it can be virtually any type of pet!

With the advent of specific laws relating to emotional support animals, and the adaption of existing laws in favor of people with a recognized disability, it’s now even possible to take your ESA on a flight in the cabin with you – providing you have the correct emotional support animal letter that is. It’s also possible to have your pet live with you in rented accommodation, without paying extra for the privilege. Landlords are required to make “reasonable accommodations” for their tenants so that they can live comfortably with their companion pet. The same applies to students in university accommodation, thanks to a 2013 amendment to the Housing Act. Your emotional support animal letter also allows you access to certain public areas where regular pets are not allowed. Be wise with your choice of pet, though, if you want to take advantage of all or any of the above!

It’s easy to see why and how emotional support animals are continually growing in popularity. There is no doubt that they are helping many people who, without them, could not cope with the normal pressures of daily life and living. Also, as referred to above, the introduction and adaptation of various laws are making it less complicated for these people to lead more regular lives with the help of their pet.

So how does telemedicine fit in with emotional support animals, and what part does it have to play in its continuing growth?

It’s probably fair to say that without telemedicine; a lot of people wouldn’t have their emotional support animal today. Most of the conditions which lead to folk benefiting from an ESA are to do with anxiety, panic attacks, fear of public places, fear of social situations, and so on. Imagine, then, if you had to firstly make an appointment with a licensed mental health expert; go to said expert’s office for the appointment; sit in a waiting room alongside other people; and then finally go through a face-to-face assessment about your condition with the specialist. You might think twice about doing all of that, wouldn’t you? Or maybe you live in a rural area where access to any kind of medical personnel means a long journey – something you simply can’t undertake.

Advances in telemedicine have been crucial to the widespread awareness and popularity of emotional support animals.

Well, thanks to telemedicine, you don’t have to do any of these things. You can apply for your emotional support animal letter online. You don’t need to leave the house and you don’t need an “in-person” chat. The assessment can be done fully in writing, or via a telephone or video call. There’s an initial questionnaire to complete, which outlines your own particular requirements. The specialist will then consult with you about your condition. The deciding factor on whether or not your application is successful is if the specialist believes that an emotional support animal in your life would help alleviate your symptoms. You will be told the outcome of your application at the end of the consultation. Once approved, your ESA letter will be mailed to you. No in-person contact is needed at all!

Once you have your letter, you will have access to the benefits listed above. Telemedicine will help you in these areas too. If you want to take your ESA on the plane with you, no problem: just contact the airline and fax or scan your letter across to them. Same with applying to have your pet in your rented accommodation – you don’t need to speak to the landlord in person about this. Just send them a copy of your ESA letter electronically. As you can see, we’ve actually been using telemedicine for some time without realizing it!

It’s vital that the developments in telemedicine continue apace and that it becomes more mainstream and generally more accessible. Without it, a lot of people’s conditions would be undocumented and therefore unresolved. Telepyschiatry is an area of telemedicine that is rapidly becoming popular and widespread. This is exactly the sort of thing that is crucial to diagnosing patients who might not be able to travel to see an expert in person and would therefore go undiagnosed. The recommendation to apply for emotional support animal registration is just one of several solutions that the specialist may come up with, and it turns out to be absolutely the right solution for many people.

Telemedicine might seem like a relatively recent phenomenon in health care, but in actual fact, the idea has been around since the 1950s. Back in those days, of course, digital technology didn’t exist; the only mode that existed for housebound or rural patients to access continued health care resources was the telephone, hence the name. When it was first introduced, telemedicine was regarded as a fringe service for the next few decades, albeit one with huge benefits for patients living in remote areas. However, in 2018, telemedicine is being regarded as the next progressive enhancement to sweep through the American health care system.

The reason of this is all down to digital technology. Telemedicine, though it retains the analog name, is no longer an archaic technology benefitting only a few remote patients. With the advent and continued prevalence of the smartphone, it’s becoming so much more than that, and experts forecast that the telemedicine revolution will grow exponentially in 2018 and beyond. It’s no longer just beneficial to patients who have trouble getting to their doctor, either; while it still remains that, it’s so much more simultaneously. Telemedicine is making health care cheaper and faster for everyone involved, including patients, doctors, and specialists. The former can see a medical professional on their own terms, when and where they need to, while the latter can get through more patients in a day and provide better quality care for less cost.

Patients can experience many benefits from telemedicine, and it can help doctors do their job more efficiently too.

So which areas of health care actually use telemedicine? A better way to phrase the question might be, which areas of health care don’t use telemedicine? The prevalence of smartphones and digital technology means that many areas of the expansive network that is the American health care system can benefit from the positives of telemedicine, regardless of whether they adopted telemedicine before. Here are a few of the areas that are receiving major boosts from telemedicine.

1. Mental health

According to statistics, a quarter of adults will battle a mental disorder of some type or another during their life, yet only fifty percent of these people will seek treatment. The reason for these low figures has a lot to do with the stigma surrounding mental health, and how some people who suffer from it spend their time in denial without ever actually acknowledging their issue. Mental illness is also more prevalent in isolated areas, which makes it harder for people to seek out proper care. Another barrier is the cost of mental health treatment, which usually involves a committed treatment program that some potential patients might be scared of committing to for whatever reason.

Telemedicine provides a remedy to many of these barriers, with the practice already having a successful track record in the mental health field over the last twenty years. As telemedicine becomes more widespread, mental health care is set to benefit even further, with the potential to be completely revolutionized by the nationwide adoption of telemedicine. Patients in remote areas will have the constant access to specialists that they require, while sufferers who feel shame and anxiety about stepping foot in a real-life doctor’s office can be eased into treatment from the comfort and security of their own home.

Getting medication and treatments has been made a lot easier for some people through the advent of telemedicine.

2. Prescription services

Going to retrieve a prescription has always been a bit of a drag for most people, but for some, it’s a relative impossibility. Those who are disabled or housebound can’t always make it to a doctor to receive the prescriptions they need. Telemedicine makes it possible for any patient to easily avail of their required prescriptions, as well as making the whole process easier for everyone who takes medication. All you need to do in most cases is download a relative app that you use to keep in touch with your doctor or order your medicine, or alternatively you can order up your prescription from the internet.

“And when talking about “prescriptions,” don’t just think pills, either; prescriptions come in all shapes and sizes, and cover many different varieties of illnesses or conditions. Telemedicine can help with all of them. If you require medical marijuana, you can sign up for an MMJ card at MMJ Recs. If you suffer from a mental condition and think you’d benefit from an emotional support animal, you can get yourself verified at Moosh. Or if you’re disabled or handicapped in any way, and unable to reach a doctor, you can retrieve a disabled parking permit at Dr Handicap.

3. Specialists

Everyone knows that for any condition causing serious worry, your family doctor is merely a gateway to a specialist. Previously, if you lived in a rural or remote area, you’d have to be referred to the nearest specialist to your local area, who might not always be your preferred choice, or even the best option for your condition. With telemedicine, you can choose from a wide range of specialists and not get tied down to one just because they’re convenient. Telemedicine also reduces waiting times, which were previously inordinate, and helps patients see the specialist they require and want in much shorter order.

Nowadays, superfoods are everywhere and growing in popularity with more and more people becoming conscious of their health. Not only this, if you want to ensure your health is in top form you can also carry your doctor around in your pocket. With telemedicine in the U.S. becoming more popular, you can have access to health advice through your phone as well as your laptop/computer. The potential of illness prevention by consuming superfoods and expertise advice via telemedicine means that more people could be healthier and happier much more easily.

What exactly classifies as a superfood, and do they really make any real difference to one’s health? Or is it all a dieting myth in the name of getting us to dig deeper into our wallets? Most of us know that fruits and vegetables are good for us. Superfoods, however, are types of food that are supposedly more nutrient-dense than your average apple and banana, and can provide various health benefits such as lowering the risk of cancer, shielding our bodies from cell damage, and removing toxins. Kale, blueberries, and avocados are examples of superfoods you can easily find in the supermarket. While these are more common and well-known, there are an increasing number of more exotic superfoods that are becoming something of a trend.

For example, chia seeds, which are native to Mexico, have been one of the most popular superfoods in recent times. At first glance, they may not seem like anything special, but looks can be deceiving as chia seeds actually hold great nutritional benefits. Chia just so happens to mean “strength” in the Mayan language and this is exactly the reason why Aztec warriors would consume the seeds before a battle. Furthermore, research has shown that chia seeds help promote a healthy heart and digestive system in addition to being a good source of omega 3, which we all need for good sleep, skin, and cognitive function. Moreover, chia seeds are a good substitute for ingredients such as eggs in baking, and as they can absorb up to 30 times their weight in water, they are excellent for hydration and maintaining electrolyte balance.

Superfoods can be a great addition to your regular healthy diet.

Quinoa is actually a type of seed and, just like chia, it comes from South America and was eaten by the Incas. It was known as the mother of grains and its great benefits explain why. It is a good source of plant-based protein and holds all of the essential amino acids our bodies need. Quinoa is also high in fiber, iron, manganese, magnesium, and folate, to name a few. If you’re following the trend of going gluten-free then quinoa is a good alternative to wheat, barley, and rye. On top of this, other proven health benefits include helping with blood sugar control as it is a low GI food, and being high in antioxidants, which neutralizes free radical damage and fights ageing – something that most people desire.

The mighty acai berry is known to have more antioxidants than blueberries and can boost the immune system as well as give you clear glowing skin by slowing the damage caused by free radicals. Acai has become somewhat the queen of berries, especially in the beauty industry, and not just because of the benefits it provides to the skin; it can also boost weight loss by suppressing the appetite and controlling blood sugar levels. It can also cleanse your digestive system and help your liver and kidneys remove waste and toxins from the body.

Spirulina may not be as popular as the other superfoods we’ve mentioned, but this blue-green algae is not something new to the scene of superfoods. In fact, it has been around for an estimated 3.5 billion years and is known for its amazing nutritional profile. Various studies have proved that spirulina increases the production of antibodies and other cells to help with immunity and therefore the prevention of certain diseases and illnesses, including cancer. If this wasn’t enough, this freshwater plant also helps to detoxify the body of metals, reduces cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure, too. Spirulina is also high in protein, making it a great option for vegans or vegetarians.

Check with your telemedical professional to find out which superfoods could benefit your health.

The coconut oil craze has been around for a while and people are still obsessed with this superfood. The reason behind its popularity is due to its many diverse uses. Not only can you consume it by using it as cooking oil, in place of butter in baking recipes, or for your bulletproof coffee, you can also use it externally as a natural alternative for hair and skincare. The surprising benefits of coconut oil include reducing hunger, improving blood cholesterol levels, and killing harmful microorganisms.

There is no doubt that these superfoods can give your health that extra boost. However, it is possible that the dramatic increase in attention and sales of these superfoods are also likely linked to the fact that they are not only marketed as miracle foods, but also as exotic and luxurious – meaning retailers can charge that bit extra. Furthermore, it is not always necessarily the case that the more expensive the fruit, the healthier it is for us, although the nutritional profiles of these superfoods are very impressive. It is worth noting that just like other “domestic” foods, superfoods are not all made equal and checking the source and growing practices is a good idea. Ultimately, the legitimacy of superfoods may be questioned, but if you are curious as to whether they can truly improve your health, the only sure way is to try for yourself.