Learn about the most life-changing benefits of telehealth and why you should consider signing up for programs!
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7 Benefits of Telehealth You Should Know
1. Makes Healthcare Easier and More Convenient
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of telehealth is it offers professional medical services at the tip of your fingers. This eliminates the need to travel long distances for simple checkups.
In fact, a survey on Nebraska’s Children’s Hospital and Medical Center showed that the institution’s telehealth program benefited both patients and practitioners by giving them a new platform to do consultations on.
With telehealth, patients are more likely to follow through with scheduled consultations. After all, they just need to log in through their smartphones or computers.
They won’t have to worry about wasting time, money, and effort to travel to the clinic or hospital.
Similarly, doctors can observe their patients better since they can keep in constant communication almost 24/7.
2. Leaves Time for Other Important Duties
A hectic and busy schedule makes it hard to fit in a doctor’s appointment. In situations like so, the patient has no choice but to reschedule and delay the necessary treatment.
Luckily, with telehealth programs, you don’t have to reschedule anything! Just set aside a few minutes of your day for the consultation and make sure you have access to a stable internet connection.
You can even do the consultation anywhere—at work, school, or home.
3. Reduces Risk of Shortages
In many rural areas, hospitals have a hard time catering to all patients. Patients end up getting stuck in waiting rooms for hours on end while the hospital’s staff struggles to keep up with the number of patients flocking.
Various factors such as lack of available rooms, specialists, and facilities affect these kinds of situations.
A simple solution to this issue is to expand the hospital’s medical team. However, not every institution has the financial capacity and human resources to do so.
What they can do instead is to use telehealth applications. Even with a limited staff, the hospital will still be able to service various patients remotely.
That way, patients won’t have to flock in waiting rooms anymore, leaving more space for patients in an urgent, critical state. Also, treatments will move much faster since the consultation is done over the phone.
4. Improves Patient Monitoring
One of the biggest mistakes a patient can do is to self-medicate. Basic emergency and first aid treatments are must-knows, but when it comes to specialized procedures and prescribing medicine, one should seek professional help.
With telehealth, you no longer have to rely on seedy forums and websites that tell readers what medication to use. Instead of going straight to Google, you can open your telehealth app and talk to your preferred professional.
You can communicate information like blood pressure reading, sugar levels, and other symptoms with your health practitioner remotely. They can adjust your drug dosage or treatment plan in real-time as well.
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5. Saves More Lives
Telemedicine doctors can reach more patients faster than traditional professionals do. Not only do they get to serve a larger group of people, but they also target those who don’t have access to private healthcare.
Telemedicine Definition: A sub-branch of telehealth which refers to remotely rendered clinical services
A lot of these patients forego clinic checkups because they feel they have no way of setting an appointment with one. Either they live too far away or don’t have the money to actually visit the hospital.
Luckily, telemedicine systems allow patients and professionals to meet on a platform where neither has to spend any time or money on transportation. Just click the application, connect with each other, and proceed with the consultation. Easy, right?
6. Lowers Patient Costs
Healthcare is expensive. With the rising inflation rates, medicine and hospital fees are at an all-time high.
A few extra dollars every session might not mean much, but they can pile up to thousands of wasted dollars if you have to visit the doctor multiple times every month.
Among the benefits of telehealth systems, however, is you can reduce your expenses when visiting the doctor. Use the money you save on transportation to buy the medicine and supplements prescribed by your doctor.
At Oregon Health and Science University, patients saved more than $6.4 million dollars on transportation, thanks to telehealth applications.
7. Reduces Unnecessary Emergency Room (ER) Visits
The ER is reserved for patients in a severe, life-threatening state. Unnecessarily going to the ER is not only expensive, but it also hampers hospital operations.
The doctors and nurses will be at your aid all throughout your stay, leaving them unavailable for other patients with more serious conditions.
Telehealth applications help provide care for less urgent cases. You can still receive treatment or care through remote health teachings provided via video calls, chat or phone consultations, or readily available health information on the telehealth app on your mobile phone.
The medical and healthcare industry is evolving and professionals are constantly finding new ways to improve their services. As a consumer, you need to keep up with the trends if you want to get the most out of these discoveries and achieve optimal health.
Perhaps the best way to maximize the benefits of telehealth applications is to combine these apps with traditional consultations.
Consult with your physician in person for serious issues in need of immediate attention. Meanwhile, you can use telehealth systems for constant monitoring and communication of signs and symptoms.
What do you feel are the other important benefits of telehealth programs? Have you tried using a telehealth or telemedicine service? How was the experience? Share your stories and experience with us in the comments section below!
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