What is Telemedicine?
Telemedicine is a term used to describe a way for doctors to provide medical consultations to their patients remotely through the use of special computerized video equipment. Patients can get immediate access to their primary doctors or immediate doctor of choice with a computer and internet access. There are applications that can be installed in smartphones, iPhones and computer systems that make this all possible.
Medical doctors, physicians and nurse practitioners can make use of a computerized video platform to communicate clearly with their patients and even conduct an examination of areas of their patients’ bodies. The power of the internet makes it convenient for medical professionals to gain access to patients’ records. Medical establishments and insurance companies collaborate with hospitals, medical professionals and government institutions so that this information is accessible without compromising security and privacy issues.
Types of Conditions Telemedicine can Treat
The kinds of conditions telemedicine can be used for have been growing in number steadily since the application of it by medical professionals was established. Even dentists are establishing ways of treating their patients’ tooth infections without having to see them in person through the use of teledentistry. A dentist can view their patient’s painful tooth, diagnose an abscess infection and send a prescription for an antibiotic to their pharmacy, for example.
Technologies used for telemedicine can be used to treat common health ailments involving symptoms that can easily be viewed on monitors and cameras doctors are equipped with. These work in tandem with apps installed on their patients’ computers or smartphones. Treatable conditions can include infections, sprains, allergic reactions, asthma, and cold and flu symptoms. Telemedicine is used mostly for non-emergency treatments that are not life threatening, unless there is a monitoring device on the patient’s end.
How is Telemedicine Saving More Lives?
Telemdicine makes it possible to monitor the conditions of patients with heart conditions very easily these days. With the help of an implantable device, doctors can monitor their patients and receive real-time warnings about their conditions. Doctors know when their patients are having a turn for the worse and can summon an ambulance to their patients’ locations very quickly.
Doctors can remotely monitor their patients with dangerously high blood pressure with the help of wireless sensor networks established for these kinds of purposes. A patient’s vital signs can be transmitted to their doctors with the help of special monitoring equipment provided to the patient.
As more applications of this groundbreaking technology are made available, the nature of healthcare itself will continue to change. Critical hospital procedures will become more efficient when more non-emergency consultations are conducted remotely, benefiting both doctor and patient.
