What are Telehealth Services?
Telehealth is a service that uses video calling and other digital technologies to help you consult your doctor from home instead of going anywhere. These services are particularly helpful for older adults, those living in rural areas, or people who cannot leave their houses due to some medical conditions. It is easier for people to talk with their doctor online, through any type of electronic device as it is easier, faster, and less expensive than making a trip to an office.
Telehealth services in Canada, or elsewhere, are useful for people who are taking care of their family or loved ones from afar. If a caregiver needs to ask a question from a doctor regarding the treatment of their loved ones, they can simply do that through online portals rather than traveling and waiting in long lines to visit the doctor.
5 Benefits of Telehealth Services
- Increased Access to Greater Care
One of the biggest benefits that telehealth services provide is that more people have access to healthcare facilities especially the ones who have any medical condition and cannot leave their houses. There are multiple reasons why people cannot leave their houses.
For example, some people can’t leave their homes because they cannot drive due to certain conditions, or legal reasons, or maybe because they are not old enough, others may not be able to take time off of their work to go to see a doctor. Some parents also might not be able to leave their homes because of their children as they cannot leave them alone.
With telehealth services, you don't have to worry about leaving your house as you can have a quick conference call with your doctor without having to commute.
- Reduced Cost
Telehealthcare services reduce the cost for both medical practitioners and the patients they serve. General expenses like front desk staff, phone answering services, cost of overhead, and rent for the place, etc. are greatly reduced with Telehealth services. As these services do not cost much, this reduces the patient cost as well. This also reduces the cost associated with each visit if there is a fixed rate defined for each visit by a doctor.
- Easy Patient Follow-Up
Doctors like to follow up to see how the patient is doing so that they can be prepared if they need to be provided with more services or not. With examination over a phone or video consultation, it gets much easier to keep tabs on the patients.
Many doctors also need constant monitoring to ensure that a patient is on the right medication as in some cases the medication needs to be changed, and monitoring via remote consultation is an excellent and easy way to keep tabs on your patient's health.
- Better Patient Care
Waiting for a doctor while sitting in the clinic can cause a lot of anxiety for some patients. While using telehealth services, you can wait for the doctor to show up on your screen from anywhere in your house. Another added benefit of telehealth services is that when you are on call with your doctor, you have their undivided attention. There is no going in and out of the room to get supplies or anything else instead, the doctor and patient have a set amount of time to talk so that the patients have enough time to talk about their issues.
- Access to Specialists
There are multiple times when you go and visit a doctor only to find out that you have to go to another doctor and still have to pay for the entire visit. With telehealth services, you get a better idea of what treatment is best for you and which doctor specializes in that treatment so that you get the best possible services.
Conclusion
In our increasingly technological world, Telehealth services are arguably one of the most important aspects that have come about from it. Such support systems from point-of-care device companies help to create better access to patient care, with added flexibility so that people can follow up on their appointments with utmost ease.
