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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

You might be forgiven for thinking that telemedicine is a relatively new innovation. In fact, it’s been around for many years now, albeit in a fairly rudimentary form in the early days. With an ever-growing and increasing amount of technology at our fingertips, advances in telemedicine have been particularly great over the last decade or more. It’s important to remember that telemedicine is not making these advances solely because it can make these advances, in other words just to take advantage of modern technology – it’s making these advances because there is an increasing demand, largely due to the benefits of telemedicine that have been so far demonstrated.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, people living in remote parts of the States need better and quicker access to medical help and advice. Secondly, the ever-increasing cost of medicine is not only crippling some of our medical centers, but also making it difficult for some folk to afford treatment or health insurance. Finally, there’s that all-important commodity of which none of us seem to have enough… Time! As a patient, it’s time spent making appointments, waiting for appointments, waiting in a doctor’s office, waiting for results, waiting to speak to your specialist… You get the picture: it’s a waiting game! For the medical professionals it’s time spent visiting patients, waiting for input from other professionals, waiting for test results and scans to be sent, carrying out procedures and surgery, and so on.

Telemedicine is being adopted by more and more health care systems in more and more states. There are (aren’t there always?!) a few legalities to be sorted out, but in time it will become even more widespread and multi-faceted. Given our physician shortage, this can only be a good thing. So let’s look at the benefits of telemedicine and the ways it could save you time and money.

The first thing, obviously, is travel time. If you’re able to have a video appointment with your doctor via a smartphone or laptop from the comfort of your own home, there’s no travel time. Imagine that! In some of our rural areas, patients literally have to travel for hours to see a physician, and some patients who are less mobile might find traveling a struggle – so of course the reduced need for travel is one of the most important benefits of telemedicine.

With no travel time, there is no travel expense. So you’ll also save the cost of gas for your car or public transport charges.

It’s never been easier to access medical professionals from the comfort of your own home.

You might have to take unpaid time off work to see your doctor. Another of the many benefits of telemedicine is that many physicians offer video appointments outside of normal 9–5 working hours, so if you can take advantage of this, then there’s no loss of work time. In addition to this benefit, you’re also likely to be “seen” quicker via a video call, therefore treated quicker and back to normal more quickly, with the net result being less time off work.

If you’re waiting for a physical appointment, your illness or condition could worsen. So the quicker you’re seen, the less medication you might need or perhaps the less assistance you might need – either for yourself or in terms of child care.

A current trend in America is for more and more patients to bowl up at an ER with a minor complaint, because the wait to see their physician is just too long. Imagine if, instead of going to the ER with one of these said minor conditions, you were able to get a speedy video appointment. This would free up the ER for real emergencies, which would lead to a reduction in overall costs, eventually resulting (we hope) in lower charges to you, the patient.

Freeing up emergency departments and doctors’ waiting rooms is just one of the many benefits of telemedicine.

With telemedicine making the exchange of data and of opinions between medical experts much easier and quicker, again this will ultimately reduce costs and therefore charges. It could also save you, the patient, valuable time in the diagnosis and treatment of your condition. Imagine a scenario where you have to have various scans, X-rays, etc., all of which need to be looked at and discussed by more than one specialist. Telemedicine allows each of these specialists to receive a copy of all of your procedures electronically, and then to have a video consultation to discuss your condition and treatment. Time and money saved.

Of course, it’s fair to point out that not all illnesses or conditions are possible to deal with remotely. Telemedicine is excellent for psychiatric illnesses and for physical conditions relating to endocrinology, for example, but obviously a video appointment wouldn’t work where an actual physical examination is needed. Telepsychiatry is one area which is definitely on the increase and with an escalation in virtual doctor visits in general; telehealth companies are saying that we will all see benefits and monetary savings.

Telemedicine platforms – a software system – give physicians a secure and well-organized way of practicing medicine remotely. They can keep track of their patients’ health and care more easily; share records and data with other specialists; give out e-prescriptions anytime, anyplace; document all remote patient visits; and send out bills and receive payment electronically by both patients and insurance companies. All of this saves everyone – patients and specialists alike – time and money, and with ongoing developments and advances, the patient can only hope to experience more and more benefits of telemedicine.

Although telemedicine has been around for some time now, it’s only really in the last decade or so that the medical community and patients alike have started to embrace it. Understandable, given that it was very rudimentary in the early days. The potential was there though and obvious to most. With recent advances and developments in technology and with the wider availability of broadband services, telemedicine is finally beginning to show its true colors.

According to recent surveys and to current chat on the subject among the medical community, it’s fair to say that there are mixed views on telemedicine, for reasons that we will outline. Most revealing, though, is a recent national survey that found over 63% of health care providers use telemedicine in some form or other. The general belief is that telehealth can expand a physician’s patient base, is more cost-efficient, and makes it possible to engage better with a patient – which means that a positive outcome is more likely.

When asked for their views, doctors invariably recognize the importance of telemedicine in the running of their daily practice, but believe that it needs more development. They feel that it’s particularly of benefit to their elderly and immobile patients. They also want to have phone calls and video calls seen as part of their service and therefore as something they are reimbursed for.

There are many positive views on telemedicine among the medical community that are relevant to how telemedicine could benefit you. Physicians can see the advantage of virtual visits with patients who are unable to make a scheduled appointment in person. A video call can be instantaneous. Practices lose a lot of revenue through missed appointments; telehealth visits reduce the number of these lost appointments as well as giving patients greater flexibility on when they “see” the doctor.

Telemedicine is revolutionizing medicine – but what do those in the medical community think about it?

Telemedicine is also playing an important part in combating the rise of chronic and acute conditions. Patients with a recognized chronic condition need regular checks and care, and sometimes lifestyle coaching. Acute conditions are often recognizable via telehealth with diagnosis and treatment therefore available more quickly.

Surgeons are also supporting the use of telemedicine in surgical follow-ups. Post-surgery care is invariably crucial to the successful recovery of patients; without good care, readmission to hospital is more likely. Through telemedicine – in particular, via video link – health care providers can easily monitor their patients as they recover from the surgery.

Another area where the medical community is embracing telemedicine is in the field of mental health services. It’s widely believed that there is currently a crisis in American mental health. Telemedicine can expand access to mental health and emotional support services to those in remote areas or those who simply do not have adequate care close by. It’s also often easier for a person who may be suffering from depression or from low self-esteem to speak to a specialist via a video link rather than in person.

A further positive influence of telemedicine is seen to be in the remote monitoring of patients to make sure they are taking their medication or are following specific medical instructions. An example might be the adjusting of insulin based on glucose readings. Again, this not only helps the patient, but also means less time taken in follow-up by the caretaker and less hospital re-admissions.

According to the Pareto law of medical diagnosis, 80% of diagnoses come from the discussion of symptoms and 20% as a direct result of an examination. So telemedicine can be useful in the many situations where a physical examination is not required and also in situations where the patient might simply wish to ask his/her doctor some questions about a non-life-threatening condition or a health need. These services can often be available 24 hours a day, making it easy to see that savings can be made on time, travel, and work-loss hours.

Similarly, medics are quick to recognize the important role telemedicine plays in the running of small and/or remote hospitals. Such hospitals may not have the resources to keep a radiologist or a pathologist, for example, in-house 24/7. Or they may not have a particular specialist in house. Telemedicine allows images to be transmitted to the relevant person anywhere at any time, meaning data can be analyzed and specialists can view ultrasounds and offer an opinion.

Many medical practitioners and patients alike are embracing the technology that makes telemedicine possible.

Some of the negative views on telemedicine offered by the medical community include the fact that telemedicine regulations vary greatly from state to state and can be difficult to interpret. Some physicians simply don’t have the time or the wherewithal to look into the guidelines for their own particular state.

Another unfavorable view is to do with the technology involved. Some physicians feel that their patients may not be computer-literate enough to be able to embrace telemedicine. Others are concerned about the cost of purchasing and setting up the necessary equipment. Training may be required in their practice and possibly the hiring of additional IT staff. Also, with technology of course comes technical glitches, which could happen during a virtual consultation. Some physicians are wary of this.

However, the above potential problems notwithstanding, it’s been found that even if they are perhaps initially hesitant in the use of telemedicine applications such as video appointments, once physicians start using them, they are often very surprised by the versatility of video technology and how it enhances their services.

More and more members of the medical community are coming on board with telemedicine. Guidelines need to be streamlined, technology a little more secure, and the availability of broadband intensified in order for even more people to embrace it. There’s no doubt, though, that telemedicine is the future and that it could have a vital role to play in your own wellbeing.

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.

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.

Telemedicine is an exciting and innovative solution to a number of issues faced by patients, but many people find it slightly confusing and off-putting. The truth is that telemedicine is simply healthcare provided via telecommunications technology. It is not a new development as doctors have used telephony since the technology was invented, but it is making new breakthroughs thanks to smartphone technology. Like contemporary telemedicine, the use of emotional support animals, or ESAs, is also not new but is currently experiencing a massive surge in popularity. Animals have been used for therapeutic reasons for thousands of years, but now it is much easier to access proper protection for emotional support animals and their owners thanks to modern technology. As use of telemedicine and emotional support animals grows, the two are being used in tandem more and more frequently.

While many people think that the process of getting an emotional support animal letter is difficult, it’s actually very easy when you use telemedicine. An emotional support animal letter is a document that is stamped, signed, and dated by a medical professional and states that your emotional support animal is used to support you in the treatment of your emotional or psychological condition.

An emotional support animal can be an incredible form of therapy and treatment.

Many people who have conditions that can be helped by emotional support animals may find it quite difficult to leave the house, which is why telemedicine can be so powerful for them. Telemedicine allows these patients to have an online consultation in order to receive their emotional support animal letter instead of having to go to the doctor’s office, which can be an intimidating experience if you are suffering from particular anxieties or phobias. Emotional support animals can help in the treatment of numerous conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, stress and anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. In providing tangible support, ESAs often ensure that their owners can live far more productive lives than those who are battling their conditions alone.

In order to get an emotional support animal letter via telemedicine, you just need to have an online consultation which can be done on your smartphone. You may have to wait in a virtual waiting room, but when you get through, you’ll speak to a qualified medical professional who will assess your suitability. They will ask you about your condition and how your pet helps you manage it. If they deem you suitable for ESA treatment, they will write you an emotional support animal letter, which will be valid for one year. When your letter expires, you will need to have another consultation to have your ESA recertified.

When you receive your ESA letter, you will have certain protections under the law. Tenants cannot be prejudiced against by landlords with anti-pet regulations, as ESAs must be accommodated for and cannot be subject to restrictions such as size and weight. You also cannot be discriminated against by airlines who must allow you to fly along with your emotional support animal. They must do all they can to accommodate you and cannot legally stop you and your ESA from traveling together.

Telemedicine and emotional support animals pair perfectly together to give people the treatment they need much more easily.

The power of pairing telemedicine and emotional support animals is that it can connect you to a medical professional who really understands how ESAs work. There are some doctors who do not believe in the therapeutic power of these animals, despite clear evidence that they have a massive impact on their owners. If you live somewhere that has only a couple of options when it comes to medical advice, it can be difficult to get the specialized care and advice that you need. With telemedicine, you are instantly connected to professionals who are familiar with your needs and those of people like you, who will not judge you, and who want to help. The best thing is that you can access all of this from the comfort of your own home.

Telemedicine and emotional support animals are established therapies that are having their own renaissances, so it makes sense that they work perfectly together. With telemedicine, the power is with the patient and you will be taken seriously and listened to. Take your life back into your own hands and use telemedicine to get the best treatment available to you.