Telemedicine represents the new age of convenience, enabling people to see a doctor remotely from wherever they may be in the world.
The job of the telemedicine company is to facilitate these virtual doctor visits.
In the list below our health and wellness experts discuss the major benefits of telemedicine.
6 Benefits Of Telemedicine
Telemedicine companies are gaining in popularity. A quick glance at the benefits they provide will go a long way toward explaining that popularity.
1: With a telemedicine service, you can get treated for a range of acute conditions.
While no telemedicine service is equipped to deal with true medical emergencies, acute conditions still form the backbone of most telemedicine appointments. These include headaches, muscle pain, vomiting (1), sore throats, diarrhea, ear infections, and other classic reasons that you’d find yourself going to an urgent care center or an emergency room to get checked out.
2: Telemedicine providers can issue prescriptions.
You will have to get your prescription filled at a pharmacy, but telemedicine service providers can write prescriptions for most of the medications you’d need. There are a few exceptions, like opiates and benzodiazepines, but aside from these controlled substances, telemedicine doctors can prescribe a vast array of medications.
3: Telemedicine can be augmented by wearable tech.
The biggest threat to the public healthcare system comes from chronic conditions (2). For this reason telemedicine providers are striving to help people control chronic conditions like COPD, diabetes (3), high blood pressure (4), obesity (5), and the others that harm long-term health and wellness. Wearable technology can track physical activity levels, resting heart rate, and other measures of health which can augment telemedicine care.
4: Telemedicine may help with mental health conditions.
Mental and emotional health problems, like major depression and anxiety disorders (6), don’t follow a normal 9-5 working schedule. Telemedicine companies are changing the way mental health care works by connecting patients with therapists 24 hours a day via phone calls and video chatting. It’s a fact that most Americans who have mental health conditions don’t get treatment for them. Telemedicine can help fill the treatment gap.
5: Radiology, cardiology, and psychiatry all leverage telemedicine today..
The advantages of telemedicine for some specialties are obvious: in radiology, for example, there is no need for the physician to be physically present to interpret X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. Likewise, in psychiatry, where one of the primary treatment modalities is talk therapy, it’s easy to deliver care from a distance via phone or video chat. Same with cardiology where a doctor can monitor a patient’s heart rate and more remotely. With a quick phone call or video chat your doctor can check up on your treatment plan from home or abroad.
6: Telemedicine is an idea travelers love.
Getting quality healthcare in some places can be a challenge. Studies show that frequent travelers would be quick to pick up on telemedicine services while traveling abroad (7). Moreover, travelers age 60 and older and travelers with chronic immune system conditions like lupus (8) or HIV (9) could also benefit mightily from telemedicine while traveling.
Conclusion
Telemedicine services represent the leading edge of health care providers. For older folks telemedicine can be a life-saver by enabling them to get the medicines they need without having to venture out bad weather to the pharmacy. Telemedicine is also becoming a popular option for travelers, who can refill their prescriptions wherever they are.