Introduction to Telehealth:
Telehealth refers to the delivery of health-related services and information through the internet or other electronic means. Both telehealth and telemedicine are phrases that may be used interchangeably, although they have distinct meanings in the medical field. Telehealth is described as the use of electronic communications to transfer medical information from one location to another with the goal of improving a patient’s health. Telehealth is becoming more popular. Telehealth is not a new notion in the medical field. There have been stories of it being utilized since the early twentieth century when service providers used two-way radios to communicate with one another. After that, beginning in the 1960s, health professionals began using telephones to give advice and counseling to patients. However, with the development of numerous new technologies, telehealth is increasingly posing a threat to the traditional methods of providing healthcare. A new telehealth vocabulary has evolved throughout time to reflect the discipline of health care (teleradiology and telepsychology) or the objective of the intervention (telemedicine and telepsychology), among other factors (telerehabilitation or telecare).
How Patients are Benefiting from Telehealth?
There are several advantages to using telehealth. Visits to a doctor in person may be costly and time-consuming, and virtual telehealth visits can be less expensive and more convenient. Telehealth allows patients can have healthcare access to a licensed professional from the comfort of their own homes, while still receiving excellent medical treatment. Some more benefits are:
- There is no need to spend time or money on transportation.
- There is no need to take time off work to care for children or elderly relatives.
- More than one Telehealth options are available on demand.
- Easy access to Specialists.
- There is a lower chance of contracting a new illness.
- Lower waiting room wait times lead to better health.
How Doctors Can Benefit from Telehealth?
There are several advantages to using Telehealthcare solutions. It is not just the patient who benefits from telehealth services; it is also the facility and the physicians who provide treatment to the patient. The following is a list of the most significant benefits of telehealth:
- Physicians can broaden their reach
- Physicians may, in certain situations, receive income for being on-call for Tele-consultations.
- Physicians may also save additional time by not needing to travel between locations.
- Tertiary care centers can promptly identify distant patients who need transfer to facilities.
- Physicians can access patients in remote locations.
- Physicians get to stay home too.
- For physicians, telehealth access helps minimize office expenditures, such as the requirement for the front desk.
How Insurance Providers Benefit from Telehealth?
Telemedicine is not simply a wonderful concept from a public health standpoint; it’s actively supported by insurance carriers. With the pandemic altering health systems, telehealth services, like remote patient monitoring, are safer and more cost-effective for both patients and insurers.
- Fewer out-of-network transfers
- Insurance companies on average save $126 per patient using telemedicine services.
- Insurance Providers may dramatically broaden their prospective patient pool.
- Improve the quality of rural health patient base with no added travel expenditures.
- No-shows go down because patients are more engaged with their care team.
- Transfers to out-of-network facilities (and related loss of income) go down.
- Hospital readmissions decrease.
