Visiting a medical office can hardly bring any delight or enjoyment to a patient. There is almost nothing to enjoy about a medical office, particularly if ill people surround you. No one wants to leave home in a sick state of health. This is where telemedicine can be beneficial for you. Your ailment can be easily discussed and diagnosed by making a virtual appointment with your healthcare provider. Saad MD is offering the best telemedicine appointment in Michigan.
Georgine Nanos, MD, MPH, who is a general physician and CEO of Kind Health Group based in California, said, “More than 80% of primary care doctors listen carefully, observe and take questions of the patient via telemedicine appointment. This is how we reach the accurate diagnosis of the patient’s condition in most cases.”
Telehealth is acquiring wide popularity in the United States of America. It’s accessible and easy on the pocket for most people. It also keeps people from each other – something essential to protect public health during pandemic times.
What Is Meant By Telehealth?
James R. Powell, MD, CEO/CMO of Long Island Select Healthcare, describes telehealth as “It is a convenient method of providing healthcare services to the patients who are located at a long distance. They can use interactive audio and video telecommunications services to communicate with their physicians via a telemedicine appointment.”
He further elaborates, “Telehealth can also be used to provide any type of healthcare service that doesn’t require the physician to touch, feel or smell the patient. In short, it can safely say that telehealth services have given people the access to overcome the hurdles of long distance, quarantining, or patient’s personal lack of capacity to move.”
Settings In Which Telemedicine Can Be Used?
Telehealth services can be used in the following settings.
- At home, by connecting working individuals to their doctors, physicians, or healthcare providers.
- At school, connect sick or injured kids to healthcare providers via a video or audio call.
- At hospitals, connecting general physicians to specialists in different cities for consultation and expert advice on a certain case.
- At seniors residencies and healthcare facility resources, especially in times like the pandemic, Covid-19, outbreaks, lock-downs, and quarantine for therapy and follow-up sessions as per medical requirements.
- For remote patient monitoring (RPM), where patients use different devices such as a blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, and glucose monitor. These devices are used to send recorded readings to the doctor, and they will get back to you with an appropriate diagnosis.
- Telehealth services also permit the doctor to send back messages to the patient via an audio or video call. Covid-19 kits and digital stethoscopes have been developed for remote patient monitoring services.
Some physicians and doctors also prioritize using the phone call channel for telemedicine communication, but video communication is usually more common.
Telehealth/ Telemedicine Services
Telemedicine provides a lot of health services. Some of them are mentioned below.
- Chronic illness
- Chronic illnesses and their follow-ups
- Chronic pain
- Chronic pain and their follow-ups
- Respiratory allergies
- Skin allergies
- Cough and cold
- Influenza
- Diabetes management
- Discussing test results
- Eye infections
- Diabetes follow-up visits
- General questions from the attending physician
- Blood pressure issues
- Blood pressure follow-ups
- Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression
- Mental health issues follow-ups
- Questions regarding medicines
- Questions regarding prescription refills
- High-grade fever
- Smoking cessation
- Rashes
- Specialist consultation and referrals
- Sinus problems
- Sleep problems
- Substance abuse and its counseling
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss plan
- Annual Wellness Visits
The Difference Between Telehealth and Telemedicine?
Telehealth and telemedicine can be used interchangeably, but they technically refer to different practices. Telehealth is a larger term that is used for health services availed using the technology of communication that is not only restricted to medical consultations.
Telemedicine is rather a subset of telehealth that ensures the provision of clinical services. This includes the medical practice between the physician and the patient. It can be said that telemedicine is more or less like a visit to the doctor but virtually – most commonly via video conferencing.
Healthcare providers using telemedicine services are obliged to follow the Health Insurance and Portability Act (HIPAA) responsibilities for all the virtual appointments that are needed to be followed for in-office or in-person appointments.
Why Are Telehealth Services Important During Pandemic Times?
Dr. Powell, who runs a telemedicine clinic in the United States, explains the importance of telehealth during a pandemic. He says that “Telehealth largely provides strong support by letting the healthy people or people who are not suffering from any sort of viral illness, for example – Covid-19, receive primary or urgent care services from the comfort of their home or offices. This is crucial for numerous hospital beds and emergency bays that are required for coronavirus patients.”
Telehealth can also be used in the form of triage. If a patient is not sure whether they require an in-office doctor visit for their ailment or injury, a telemedicine appointment can determine the seriousness and if an in-office visit is needed or not. If an emergency in-office physician’s appointment is needed, the telemedicine consultant will call an ambulance for further consultation and treatment. Additionally, this will enhance the patient’s care, particularly during an outbreak like a pandemic, to brace up your medical staff for a potentially infected patient.
Is It True That Insurance Covers Telehealth?
The majority of insurance companies provide telehealth coverage. Gradually the number of services they provide is increasing. Every state has acquired some Medicaid telehealth services that are covered by an insurance program. The known telehealth programs are Medicaid and Medicare, which have gained popularity during the pandemic – 19.
Dr. Powell said, “Ask your doctor if they are giving the facility of telehealth as an alternate option for an in-office visit. Most importantly, to inquire whether it will be covered or not. Contact your insurer to further investigate telehealth coverage and its relevant benefits. Insurance companies usually update their website to answer questions regarding insurance.”
What To Expect At Your Telehealth Appointment?
The doctor will review everything on your telemedicine appointment. They will review all your medical records and charts and relevant medical history. They will speak and communicate clearly to get to the roots of your ailment and curate the best diagnosis for it. Your physician will ask you health-related questions. After coming to a final diagnosis. they will prescribe you medicines and may request previous medical records to check whether additional lab testing needs to be performed.
Requirements For A Telemedicine Technology
Following are some of the telehealth technology requirements.
- A working device such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop that functions well on an audio or video
- A functioning program, app, or website that connects you to the healthcare provider
- A reliable internet connection and a good, wired internet cable
- Headphones – although they are optional might be helpful in making privacy better
Benefits of Telehealth
Following are some of the nominal benefits of telehealth.
- Accessibility
- Cost-efficiency
- Quick and smooth availability of appointment slots
- Flexibility
- Reduced exposure to infectious vectors
Conclusion
There can be one to more limitations of telemedicine. Cases of trauma, wound care, shortness of breath, and profuse bleeding cannot be dealt with over a telemedicine visit. Lab testing, such as X-rays and blood profiles, also requires an in-office appointment to perform the process. However, if you are looking for telehealth physical therapy in royal oak, Michigan, then Saad MD urgent/primary care is your best bet.
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