Telemedicine (6)

What are the types of telemedicine services

there are a few different ways that healthcare systems can use telemedicine to assist patients. As discussed in previous articles, telemedicine is the method of using telecommunications to connect patients and providers over a distance. Today, there are three different types of telemedicine used and it includes the following:

Interactive Medicine

Interactive medicine, also known as live telemedicine, allows patients and physicians to communicate in real-time. Communication methods include both phone consultations and video conferences. Physicians can assess a patient’s medical history, perform psychiatric evaluations, and more using interactive medicine.

Store and Forward

This type of telemedicine allows providers to share patient information with a practitioner in another location. For example, a primary care physician can now share patient records and medical data with a specialist without being in the same room. Systems can transmit information across vast distances and different systems (sometimes) so one physician can know what another has already done. This leads to less duplicate testing and fewer instances of poor medication management.

Remote Patient Monitoring

Likely a favorite among patients aging in place, telemedicine permits providers to monitor their patients in their own homes. Using patient portals, a physician can gather and share information with their patient. In addition, medical devices can send vital signs and more to providers so they can make adjustments to care as needed. Organizations offers their clients the following telemedicine solutions:

• EKG
• Ultrasound
• Dermatoscope
• Pulse oximeter

These medical devices also allow physicians to travel to rural and developing countries to provide necessary patient care.

What are the applications of telemedicine

Thanks to telemedicine, physicians have the wonderful opportunity to connect with clients wherever they are. Patients who once could not see a physician due to access to care issues, can now do so almost seamlessly. However, many may wonder what is telemedicine’s most valuable applications? We’ll discover a few popular ways that telemedicine is used today.

Chronic Disease Management

With high-tech medical devices, physicians can now monitor their patients health over long distances. Touchscreen technology allows providers to access heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels and more through the transmission of data from one device to another.

Leading telemedicine companies, assists healthcare organizations in being able to treat patients with chronic diseases. They recognize that 75% of the United States healthcare spending is dedicated to treating heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. As a result, they’ve created telemedicine solutions that can keep physicians abreast from hospital to home. In addition, the patient, their family members, and other healthcare professionals can collaborate in the patient care process.

Today, when readings fall out of range, a physician can intervene in real time, which leads to better health outcomes.

Medication Management

Those in the healthcare industry recognize that medication management is a big deal, especially among seniors. Older adults are more likely to forget to take their medications, which is where telemedicine comes in. Providers and other healthcare professionals can use telemedicine technology to monitor when and if their patients took their medicine. As a result, this leads to fewer hospital readmissions and enhances medication compliance.

Sharing Medical Information

Store and forward, a type of telemedicine that allows providers to share information over a distance, has been a game changer. Today, primary care physicians can connect with specialists who are in another location than them. Healthcare information like diagnostic images, blood analysis, and more can be shared for appropriate patient assessment in real time.

Emergency Room (ER) Diversion

Without a doubt, the emergency room is one of the most expensive, overcrowded, and stressful environments in healthcare. With telemedicine, overcrowded emergency rooms can be reduced by having patients see a remote physician using video chat first. The remote physician can determine if that individual should seek care in an emergency department, which increases ED efficiency.

2nd Opinion

Today, there are telemedicine solutions that allow patients to seek a second opinion from the comforts of their home. Sending another physician copies of your medical images and more can easily be done by uploading the content to their secure website. This is very convenient for those who need a specialist but do not have the resources to drive thousands of miles away or wait a long time.

NICU/ICU

In the NICU/ICU, telemedicine can be used in a variety of ways. One approach is by using HD webcams to see the baby from different angles. High-risk infants can be seen by a specialist at another hospital by simply sharing the video within seconds. This decreases the need for infants to be transferred to another hospital, which is costly and time consuming.

Some facilities have also set-up telemedicine follow-up visits that take place one week after a baby is discharged from NICU. Hospitals that did this noticed a significant decrease in extra visits or calls from worried parents.

Disaster Relief

When a disaster occurs, the local healthcare resources are immediately pulled in to provide both emergent and non-emergent care. This usually results in a shortage as the demand for services is much higher than what can be supplied.

With telemedicine, physicians in other locations can provide assistance by conducting video visits. In fact, when Hurricane Harvey occurred in 2017, healthcare professionals provided emergency and behavioral health video visits. This allowed practitioners to focus on high demand, complex cases in-person versus low level cases that can managed remotely.

Paramedic/Ambulatory

It’s not uncommon for an emergency department to shut down after reaching capacity. This leads to ambulances taking patients to hospitals that are farther away and this ultimately affects their outcome.

By using telemedicine, paramedics can use technology to see the capacity of an emergency room in real-time instead of heading to the hospital and then being diverted later.

Also, when emergency rooms begin using video consultations to triage their patients, it gets the non-emergent cases out sooner. This leads to less ambulance diversion and better patient outcomes.

Telemedicine for Remote Clinics

In many Walmart stores, retail consumers can walk up to a kiosk for a doctor consultation. The doctor is not physically present inside the store. Instead, the customer uses a touchscreen computer to type in their symptoms and enter a virtual waiting room. They are then connected by a video link to a doctor. The video link is encrypted to protect patient health information.

Mobile Health

Sometimes the answer to the question “What is telemedicine?” is simply mobile medicine. It doesn’t require a heavy desktop computer or a lot of equipment. Activities that used to happen only in person are now easy to do on a smartphone. Modern consumers are accustomed to downloading apps and using their smartphones for simple transactions. The same is true for doctor visits. For example, with MDLIVE the patient simply opens the app and clicks to choose a doctor, with whom they can speak either by phone, instant message, or video.   

More recently, we are starting to see small scopes and other peripherals that can plug into a mobile phone. These devices transform the phone into a pocket-sized diagnosis tool, excellent for point-of-care tests.

Device Streaming

Medical devices that can stream their data long-distance include, but are not limited to:

• Digital stethoscope
• EKG
• Pulse oximeter
• Ultrasound
• Blood pressure cuff
• Otoscope
• Dermatoscope

These devices can be packed into a kit and sent out into the field. In this way, telemedicine has proved extremely useful in rural and developing countries like Gabon, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Nigeria, where there is very little access to high-quality medical care. Telemedicine eliminates the barrier of distance and improves access to medical services that would otherwise not be available in distant rural communities.  

In this category of medical devices we can also include wearables like FitBit. Data from wearables can be captured via Bluetooth and displayed on a digital dashboard, which allows doctors to monitor their patients’ vital stats.

Which medical specialties can use telemedicine

Although telemedicine has been most beneficial to the primary care arena, it also benefits various medical specialities. Consider the following ways that VSee implements their telemedicine solutions to benefit multiple medical specialities.

Radiology

A radiologist specializes in using medical imaging techniques to both diagnose and treat disease. Their day-to-day responsibilities include working with other healthcare professionals, which can be extremely time-consuming. With telemedicine, radiologists can receive high-quality images and provide feedback on where ever they are. They no longer have to be in the same area as the provider sending over the images, which allows for a more streamlined process.

Technology uses radiology software to:

• Schedule patient appointments
• Allow patients to pay for services rendered
• Provide or give second opinions
• Mental Health

Likely one of the most popular specialities for telemedicine, mental health practices can increase revenue, streamline patient flow, and provide counselling sessions from anywhere. With telemedicine, patients in rural areas can now access mobile and web apps to speak with their therapist. In addition, cancellations and no-shows are less likely to occur. Mental health practices that implement telemedicine can also see more patients and still provide a high level of patient care. This leads to increased profitability and effective time management.

Pediatric

Parents can now avoid bringing their sick child out of the house to see a doctor because of telemedicine solutions. A Pediatrician can use Messenger to securely share images, texts, and more to make a diagnosis and treatment plan. Pediatrician can also provide education to parents regarding next steps just as they would at a clinic.

Dermatology

With telemedicine, patients can connect with their dermatologist using a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Using high definition images and video, dermatologists can examine a patient suffering from psoriasis, eczema, bedsores, and more. This is extremely convenient for those patients that are housebound. Using telemedicine solutions, dermatologists can diagnose and treat skin care conditions effectively and efficiently. In addition, it not only saves a patient from travelling to a clinic but it also helps them maintain their dignity.