was the use of telemedicine in order to reach patients who do not have access to
The benefits of telehealth consultations are immeasurable; clients are able to access a knowledgeable health care professional and receive a telephone triage/assessment and recommendations. This allows the patient to have immediate access to good health advice and quicker solutions. Telemedicine is one of the many vehicles of telehealth; for example, the cardiologist orders an outpatient Holter Monitor trial to evaluate arrhythmias. The technician calls the patient at the sign of any abnormal rhythm and investigate the activity performed when the reading fluctuation then the reported is communicated to the cardiologist. If warranted, the cardiology staff will contact the patient with instructions schedule an immediate appointment. Telehealth services resources would benefit the client in this next example, an individual’s come in for a sick visit expecting a prescription to be written for their illness; they receive informative instructions because of the nature of the
In this context telemedicine and technological capability can respond to two major strands: the first is a simplification to ensure that with available technologies, all actors of a clinical path from taking care to resign, share real-time Useful information for themselves and for other professionals in order to identify and follow the best path. The second strand is the provision on the territory of technological capacities that are very developed in a hospital environment but whose deployment is quite circumscribed.
In the United States, a renewed interest occurred in telehealth in the 1990s according to McGonigle and Mastrian because of escalating costs, the need for greater access for all
Telehealth services refers to the exchange of health information and services through telecommunication services in order to support anyone, at any time, in any location. Telehealth systems allows doctors to be in one place and treat patients in rural or urban areas – such as their homes or any another providers premises. The technology behind such concept is particularly helpful for patients with trouble leaving the house, or that live in remote areas from specialists (Narisi, 2013)
In this paper we will discuss an innovation that has been developed in the last 20 years that has influenced the health care industry. That innovation is telemedicine.
Telemedicine has provided better access to health care to many individuals that would otherwise not be able to get required health care services. Telehealth is a means to improve access to care, while reducing costs of transportation and increasing accessibility to patients in obtaining care. Telemedicine allows for healthcare information to be shared with treatment team members that are separated miles from each other with the ability to communicate in a timely manner. For information technology to impact care, one has to be knowledgeable about the use of technology
The use and applications of telehealth services have expanded over the past decade, along with the role of technology in improving and coordinating care. Telehealth has improved capabilities to reduce travel time, increase access to specialty care, and improve patient safety, quality of care, and provider support.1 Traditional models of telehealth involve care delivered to the patient at a series of originating (or spoke) sites from a specialist working at a distant (or hub) site.
Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities.
Rural areas need improved access to care. While all the solutions discussed, would be great solutions and would be able to help with increased access to care it is important to have one solution that is here to stay. With funding being a concern in many areas of government; healthcare should not depend solely on more funding. While transportation is a valid option to help in resolving the rural healthcare situation it has many pitfalls as well (Cronk, 2015). As we all know weather can cause havoc with
Telemedicine refers to the use of medical information, which is exchanged from one place to another through several electronic communications to improve the health status of patients. Telehealth is closely associated with the term telemedicine. Telehealth encompasses a broader definition of the remote healthcare, which does not necessarily involve any clinical services. As such, transmission of images, video conferencing, medical education, e-health such as patient portals and nursing centers are all part of telehealth and telemedicine. Telehealth and telemedicine are critical issues within the healthcare sector for both the practitioners and the consumers. With the increase in telecommunications development, the internet, and lowered costs of technology, the use of telehealth and telemedicine may have a revolutionary and profound impacts in the field of medical care worldwide. Telemedicine is imperative to healthcare professionals because it is cost efficient, improves access to health care and the increased convenience for
In today’s time, the Internet is really altering the way us Americans intermingle with the healthcare system. The Internet is making consumers more desirable to use it, in hopes for more opportunities. With the help from the Internet, telemedicine is becoming one of the best cultivating advanced technology in healthcare right now. Telemedicine can be defined as the use of medical information that is exchanged from one site to another (americantelemed, 2012). This process utilizes technology and digital communication in order to help patients’ progress. Important aspects of telecommunication include video, email, mobile devices, and more. So, in a nutshell telemedicine allows patients to communicate with their assigned physician about any
Innovations in technology can have a direct impact on our collective way of life. Indeed, the most compelling of technology innovations are those that can be used to improve the quality of human life. This is especially the case in fields such as healthcare and medicine. Fundamental to the functionality of modern society and yet plagued by critical needs and problematic realities, these are areas in which emerging technologies already coming into market readiness may be pushed into practice by virtue of their paired economic viability and social responsibility. So is this the case with telecommunications in healthcare, an area in which we are gradually verging on solutions for many of the geographical, physical and financial obstacles that have limited are ability to treat patients. According to Lin, (1999), "telemedicine enables a physician or specialist at one site to deliver health care, diagnose patients, give intra-operative assistance, provide therapy, or consult with another physician or paramedical personnel at a remote site. Thus, the aim of telemedicine is to provide expert-based health care to understaffed remote sites and to provide advanced emergency care through modern telecommunication and information technologies." (p. 28) Especially in hospital settings, these technologies have the capacity to reduce the expenditure of resource and labor during the treatment process. These features make the
The delivery of health care has always been influenced by technological developments and innovations. This is particularly true in modern health care professionals where they are obsessed with technology and rush to apply them. One of the most recent applications of ICT – Information and computer technology- is telehealth. Telehealth is the use of communication, diagnostic and information technology to provide health care when patients and providers are geographically separated [2], Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store -and-forward imaging, streaming media, terrestrial and wireless communications. Telehealth could be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone or as
A challenge that many rural communities are dealing with is the lack of primary care physicians, specialist, understaffed hospitals, and transportation. “Only about ten percent of physicians practice in rural America despite the fact that nearly one-fourth of the population lives in these areas” (National Rural Health Association [NHRA], n.d., para. 2). Although, there are programs designed to improve patients access to hospitals and physicians in rural areas, provider access for these patients remains a barrier. Technology can bridge some of the gaps of care for these patients and it can be beneficial in many ways. With enhanced technology, primary care physicians and patients will be able to have support, access to quality care, improvement in self-management skills, which ultimately, will improve a patient’s health. To assist physicians with delivery of optimal care and for patients to be able to go to scheduled wellness visits with physicians, a new approach to solving rural health barriers are needed.