Why Telemedicine Is the Future

Innovation is the key to growth in any industry, and the healthcare industry is no different. Telemedicine (or telehealth) is leading that charge by making it easier for individuals to get one-on-one time with their medical providers. Best of all, these face-to-face interactions aren’t taking place in a doctor’s office; instead, they’re taking place on connected devices, namely: smartphones and computers.

As a result, telemedicine is being referred to as “the future of healthcare,” and it’s not hard to see why. People don’t want to wait to feel better, they want unimpeded access to professional medical help on their time, especially when it comes to routine services like ordering prescriptions. With more than half of all hospitals in the United States offering some form of telemedicine, it’s time to determine whether or not you’re getting the service you deserve. Telemedicine prioritizes convenience to help streamline the healthcare process, is your current medical provider riding this wave? Or are they putting you through the ringer for access to rudimentary healthcare services?

What Is Telemedicine?

Depending on who you’re asking, the definition of telemedicine you receive will differ. For Deborah Dahl, vice president of patient care innovation at Banner Health, telemedicine involves a “video component.” But it doesn’t have to end there. “Virtual health may have video, but it also could include artificial intelligence, apps, and chatbots,” she says.

Basically, telemedicine encompasses a broad range of technologies intended to connect patients with medical providers for instant communication that doesn’t require a visit to a physical office. Telemedicine was first described in 1925 by Hugo Gernsback, and surprisingly, his definition holds up well in the 21st century. His device, called a “teledactyl” was designed to “allow doctors to not only see their patients through a viewscreen, but also touch them from miles away with spindly robot arms.” In other words, it was the precursor to all of the technologies that allow telemedicine to exist today. Telemedicine uses digital information and communication technologies to transform the way patients access healthcare services. With telemedicine, a doctor is always waiting on the other side of your digital display.

What Are The Benefits of Telemedicine For Patients?

You may not realize it, but access to healthcare isn’t equal for everyone. People living in rural areas generally have fewer doctors in the immediate area to consult when a health issue arises. In urban areas where there are more doctors to facilitate more people, simply getting in and out of a visit can be an exercise in patience. Let’s face it, when you’re not feeling your best, the last thing you want to do is spend 45 minutes in a waiting room with a dozen other anxious patients. Telemedicine gives patients access to healthcare no matter where they are, which is improving the healthcare situation for the 59 million Americans living in health professional-shortage areas.

Telemedicine has also proven to be an enormous boon for those without access to reliable transportation, or with conditions that limit them from traveling on their own. It’s also beneficial for those with certain conditions that render them vulnerable to disease. For instance, an individual with cystic fibrosis is safer with a virtual office visit that doesn’t expose them to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. That said, the most significant (and game-changing) benefit of telemedicine is its ability to reduce health care costs:

• By optimizing staff distribution and healthcare resources across the increasingly complex healthcare system.
• By eliminating time restrictions on appointments and expanding the availability of consultations for primary care providers.
• By reducing the financial impact of patients that don’t show up for appointments.
• By boosting patient engagement and supporting more timely outcomes.
• By cutting down on costly and oftentimes unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions.

The History Of Telemedicine

Telemedicine can be traced back to the early 1900s in the Netherlands, where heart rhythms were transmitted over the telephone for diagnostic purposes. This was followed by radio consultation centers in the 1920s and radiographic images in the 1940s. Today, telemedicine has exploded in popularity thanks to advances in technology that permit patients and doctors to connect in more ways than ever before.

There are approximately 200 telemedicine networks in the United States, and this number appears to be growing with more states implementing parity laws that allow private insurers to extend coverage for telemedicine services. In 2013, there were only 350,000 telemedicine patients, but today, that number has ballooned to over 7 million. The number of employers offering telemedicine services to employees is increasing sharply, too.

Surprising Facts About Telemedicine

Thanks to telemedicine, healthcare’s migration to the digital frontier is complete. For many patients, this is a brand new branch of healthcare that is unfamiliar. It’s natural to be concerned about the direction healthcare is going, but rest assured, telemedicine will solve many of the problems that have plagued our healthcare system for years. You may even find that telemedicine greatly improves your quality of life by improving the availability of certain medical services. Telemedicine a surprisingly effective healthcare service, as evidenced by these surprising facts:

• Nearly three-quarters of patients in the United States admit that they would utilize telemedicine services and are comfortable using this technology to consult a medical professional.
• The majority of patients are comfortable with their health records being stored and access via the cloud.
• After the Veterans Health Administration adopted telemedicine services, hospital readmissions for heart failure were cut in more than half.
• A study of 8,000 patients confirmed that their was virtually no difference between an in-person visit and a telemedicine consultation when comparing patient outcomes.
• 21% of patients claim the quality of care for telemedicine services is equal to or greater than in-person visits.
• Approximately 60% of telemedicine consultations were resolved with a prescription medication.
• Collectively, employers in the United States could save up to $6 billion per year by offering telemedicine services to their employees.

Are There Disadvantages To Telemedicine?

The main disadvantage of telemedicine is that, while it can be used to diagnose a myriad of conditions, many of these conditions will still need to be treated directly by a doctor for a full recovery. When all you need is a prescription to feel better, telemedicine can be used to gain relief much more quickly than traditional healthcare services, but when a pill doesn’t do the trick, your telemedicine options may be limited. Fortunately, the most common medical conditions are typically treatable with prescription medication.

Some believe that telemedicine is a disrupter in the healthcare industry, and not in a good way. Fears of fragmented healthcare, gaps in coverage, overuse of medical care, overmedication, and overlapping care are all very real concerns, but patient satisfaction with telemedicine is high, and when used responsibly, there’s little reason to doubt the efficacy of telemedicine. Although many Americans already have access to telemedicine, not all insurance carriers cover telemedicine, and you’ll need to check your coverage to see if you qualify. Lastly, and this probably goes without saying, but, telemedicine relies on internet service, so those who don’t have access to the internet will not be able to benefit from telemedicine in a meaningful way.

What Telemedicine Means For the Future of Healthcare?

Approximately 50% of adults suffer from at least one chronic disease. These types of diseases feature ongoing symptoms that require frequent visits to the doctor. Telemedicine could all but do away with these visits. For patients using the “hospital at home” model, telemedicine can help improve the quality of care to shrink the gap between this type of care and traditional hospitalization. Telemedicine can greatly improve individual patient outcomes, and this technology is still in a nascent state.

It can also affect healthcare on the macro level. With only one in every ten physicians practicing in rural areas in the United States, telemedicine is building a vast network of medical providers dedicated to patients both inside and outside of their local communities. Telemedicine aims to address many of the current healthcare system’s most glaring weaknesses, like exorbitant medical costs, long wait times, and lack of access to reliable medical advice. By confronting these weaknesses head on, telemedicine can help our nation foster a more complete healthcare system that works in the best interest of every patient. At Florida Surgery Consultants, working in the best interest of our patients is our number one priority. Which is why we offer telemedicine services to our patients. To learn more, schedule a consultation and see for yourself how Florida Surgery Consultants is improving patient care through innovative, individualized treatments.