Telehealth does not just connect patients to physicians and arrange consultation through tele-video calls, it also provides for aftercare support. Follow-up treatment is given, and the whole process is inexpensive.
Some of the benefits of Telehealth are:
Beyond border virtual healthcare
The concept of telehealth is not new- it was initiated about four decades earlier when hospitals used telephone services to deliver healthcare in remote areas. Now Telehealth has services have been firmly established especially due to the Covid Era, when there are restrictions on going out, either self- or government imposed.
Patients are benefiting from health care, through telecalls, or virtual consultations. Services can be delivered across countries and continents. Telehealth is applied in home-health agencies, by private physicians, healthcare facilities, and clinics.
Pre-procedure care instructions
Telemedicine or telehealth is being used extensively in medical tourism. Patients can start receiving care instructions as well as directions from the physician who is ultimately going to treat them. Doing this greatly reduces the expenditure of the patient. There is no cost of commuting or paying for repeated visits as many medical tourism companies arrange for a free consultation with a physician.
If you intend to travel for treatment, you can get invaluable advice from the concerned physician while sitting in the comfort of your home. You can share any symptoms with your physician which helps in diagnosis and future treatment.
Eliminates unnecessary traveling
One of the reasons why people travel for treatment is because that particular treatment is not available in the home country. Telemedicine has made it possible for you to take the treatment right from your home, without traveling at all. If it is a complaint that does not require surgery of any kind, then all you have to do is contact a telehealth/telemedicine provider who would help you get expert advice.
How does it work?
Currently, the two modes of operation. One is deferred or asynchronous mode and the other real-time synchronous mode.
In the first method or asynchronous method, you would have to take digital photos or get some tests done locally and upload them. Tests might have to be done on the physician’s advice. Your doctor will go through this and make a diagnosis and recommend a course of treatment.
The second method, or the real-time synchronous method involves you visiting an associated telehealth center for tests where special telehealth enabled instruments are available. Or, a healthcare professional would visit you at home to conduct the tests. The physician will talk to you live and discuss your illness and give you a real-time diagnosis and recommendation.
Telehealth is an all-encompassing method that bridges cross-border barriers and allows physicians to provide the best healthcare from a distance. Your cost of traveling to another country can be completely avoided. Telemedicine is useful for getting a second opinion from a doctor of a reputed JCI accredited international healthcare facility, which ensures you get high-quality virtual consultation at a very affordable cost.