Online medical consultations, remote visits, and diagnosis, teleconferencing among the doctors, or between the doctors and the patients, sharing of health-related photographs for analysis and diagnosis, all this forms a part of telemedicine. And this technology has taken a far-reaching pace in today’s times. The doctors and patients are outwardly and increasingly making the use of telemedicine and it has exceptionally revolutionized the way the healthcare system has been working. With the possibility of remote physical examination, diagnosis, and treatment, the medical services have become far more available and accessible and this has come as a great step in helping people address their healthcare needs better.
However, telemedicine is not relatively new a concept. Its history, in fact, dates back to the 1900s.
History of Telemedicine
It was a time when the radios were coming to a trend and the scientists were finding new ways to use this technology. Among these developments, there was an inventor, Hugo Gernsback who took the idea to use the radio to the next level, in the form of teleradiology to make the healthcare more effective and accessible. And with that idea, he came with a device called Teledactyl. This device was designed to allow the doctors to perform a remote physical examination of patients sitting miles away from them. The idea, of course, could not reach its next phase, but it was at a good success for its times and could significantly contribute towards better healthcare.
Later, more developments kept taking place. The idea was furthered with certain animated cartoon series as well which showed things like drones, video cameras, flat televisions, and people connecting through technological means other than telephones. And the involvement of a concept of healthcare, this threw light on the future of telemedicine in the times to come.
Later in the seventies, the system grew further with the growth of space technology and the need for health solutions for people in very distant locations, and with researches, it became possible to develop more technologies that could aid with such remote healthcare services. Of course, there were challenges, but the constant development and advancement in the technologies came through as a continuous help in coping up with the challenges.
Internet, among these technologies, came through as one major development too. It helped with better connectivity and was efficiently bringing the world closer which pretty much served the bigger aim of telemedicine. With that, since the 1990s, telemedicine has seen an amazing boost and the doctors and patients have become a part of a greater healthcare system, something more of like a planetwide ecology.
And with these continuous developments, telemedicine has not been behind in serving the best to the healthcare system, making it all the better with time and coming as a constant healthcare solution for all.
Benefits of Telemedicine
Healthcare services have been advancing ever since the start of time and telemedicine has come as a great technology to benefit the entire system. Here are the many benefits that you can achieve with telemedicine.
Higher Accessibility to Healthcare Facilities
The accessibility to healthcare services has always been a point of concern. There are areas where these services are not as easily available and the distance the people have to travel to reach for the medical assistance they need comes as a limitation. Telehealth overcomes this. With the medical and healthcare assistance available to the people remotely, the limits as to the geographical locations and boundaries are eliminated and people can easily connect with their doctor and healthcare providers at the comfort of their home.
Helps with Providing Faster Medical Aid
With the availability of medical assistance remotely, you need not travel distances to your doctor’s clinic, hospitals, or other medical centers. You can get immediate medical help by simply connecting through a telemedicine solution. This makes the provision of medical aid faster and works out great for emergency and urgent issues. Also, the patients do not have to keep waiting for the doctor to attend them and prevents frustration.
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Helps with Paying Greater Attention to Emergency Cases
With the telemedicine solutions available, the doctors and medical practitioners can treat their patients with minor issues like cold, headaches, etc., remotely. This prevents the hospitals from getting crowded and makes sure that the doctors are attending to the emergency cases only at the hospitals and emergency units. This also makes sure that the doctors are not under pressure or frustration due to the rush of the patients.
Helps with Reducing the Healthcare Costs
Telehealth Deployment significantly brings down the healthcare costs for the patients. They do not have to travel for getting the necessary medical aid, they have medicines more easily and feasibly available, and they can reach out to their doctor any time as per their convenience. This aids with the affordability of healthcare services.
Satisfaction at Both Ends
Telehealth Deployment provides satisfaction to the patients as well as the doctors. The patients have more accessible and affordable healthcare facilities. These facilities are as similar as any other traditional healthcare services. So, the patients get high levels of satisfaction with the medical help they receive through remote means. The doctors are able to receive this satisfaction as well since they can better attend to the needs of their patients and are also able to keep off the pressure and stress that comes with their practice.
So, these were some of the many general benefits that people can have with telemedicine solutions. Moreover, in recent times, these could be more extensively used to provide medical aid to those in need but shut lock in their homes due to the disastrous pandemic.
Telemedicine is indeed one great development that came into the healthcare industry and with its continuous growth, development, and advancement, it is indeed turning out to be a boon to the healthcare system as well and coming to what we can call as the future of the healthcare industry.
