While the world faces a pandemic, we have all had to adjust to a new reality of how we carry out usual tasks, including having our health checked. Healthcare services have had to focus on caring for people infected by COVID-19 and working to flatten the curve, stopping much non-essential face-to-face interaction with patients. Fortunately, we live in a technological age when we can carry out business, social interactions, and even healthcare consultations virtually.
Virtual healthcare, also called telehealth and telemedicine, has grown immensely with the onset of the pandemic. Through technological advancements in smartphones, medical tablets, and mobile computing technologies, people have come to accept virtual contact as a standard way to communicate, even about their health.
Three Benefits of Telehealth and Telemedicine:
Accessibility
With virtual healthcare, physicians and patients can share information in real-time. Using medical tablets designed for telemedicine, they can see and capture readings from laboratories and other medical devices from a remote location. By integrating telemedicine software programs into the tablets, patients can see a doctor virtually for diagnosis and treatment even in the comfort of their home.
Cost-Effective
Most people today have access to basic devices like mobile phones, tablets, and computers. With improved accessibility, individuals even in rural areas as well as busy urban areas can connect and have a consultation with ease. Physicians can gather essential medical information and make a diagnosis without patients physically having to be present in a doctors office or the patient traveling to the hospital or clinics for the check-up. This makes visiting a physician more cost-effective for patients and physicians, while also saving time between appointments and driving time for patients.
Improved Patient Care
Telemedicine with the integration of medical tablets improves patient care. Unlike traditional visits, where the patient has to wait for the doctor to be available, telemedicine prioritizes the patients and allows for scheduling that better fits the patients needs. With the use of medical tablets, doctors can easily see the patient and what their ailment is on the large screen of the tablet, thus being able to safely diagnose and provide care to the patient.
Telehealth and telemedicine, dont just save time, they improve patient care, timing, and scheduling and create meaningful clinician connections. With these virtual visits, patients are able to receive the care they need with more time dedicated to the patient and less time devoted to overscheduling of a doctors calendar, as oftentimes happens in an office setting. With the use of medical tablets, clinics and patients can make the integration to virtual healthcare seamlessly.