How Telemedicine is Changing Healthcare
The ever-advancing and changing nature of technology has permeated practically every part of life in the modern world. The healthcare industry is no exception. The idea of telemedicine has been around for more than half of a century, but the strides made over the past twenty-plus years with the rapid advancement of smart devices with video capabilities and interactive apps has sped the process to begin to drastically change the waywe approach modern healthcare.
For those who might not be aware, telemedicine has come to mean the use of technology to facilitate clinical appointments between patients and healthcare providers. The applications of telemedicine can vary from follow up appointments with patients who have received medical treatment from their provider already, to medication management for those with chronic issues and illnesses, to remote diagnoses with specialists not in close proximity to people needing treatment.
However, as technology continues its ever forward-moving progress, telemedicine continues to expand into new avenues for helping people. Beyond simple interactions between patient and practitioner, telemedicine has begun to include artificial intelligence components for allowing diagnoses and treatments. This AI integration allows consumers to help themselves more and relieves some of the strain on healthcare professionals to attend to the needs of patients who need more or less care than others.
Telemedicine also allows for more comprehensive care to be provided where it might have been previously lacking. Many people are probably familiar with the MinuteClinic platform by CVS. One of the goals in advancing telemedicine is to eventually implement AI-driven healthcare platforms in the drugstore setting that involve self-service systems combined with video conference interfacing with healthcare providers. This would offset some of the cost of seeking healthcare for more minor problems and decrease the amount of energy being applied by the providers. Additionally, the implementation of telemedicine in long term care facilities such as nursing homes and rehabilitation centers can assist patients who might need more regular medical care or experience medical issues more frequently than the average person without having to transport them to and from doctor’s offices and emergency rooms.
One of the many benefits of the telemedicine industry is the cost reduction for both consumers and insurers alike. Telemedicine often reduces the amount of time that healthcare providers need to spend on any one issue, whether it is by performing much of the administrative work electronically and allowing the patient and practitioner interaction to focus on the issues during their time together, or by processing more minor or chronic issues through that AI component and saving the providers time that might have been spent otherwise. The savings for the time of the providers often translates into saving money for people seeking care, which in turn could even turn into more people being willing to seek treatment where they might otherwise have been afraid of winding up with large medical debts prior to the introduction of some of these services.
Telemedicine is making healthcare more readily accessible and more consumer and practitioner friendly as it continues to grow and expand. The telemedicine platform is even expanding to include services that make more information available to healthcare providers at any given time during care provided without creating any HIPAA violations. There are many service providers working constantly on developing new technologies to increase ease of access and use or anyone involved in the healthcare process.
If you need holistic healthcare and live outside of the Denver area, Dr. Simone Sturm at Denver Holistic medicine can still be of help to you in your treatment process through her application of telemedicine. Contact the office at (303) 862-8756 to set up an initial consultation with Dr. Sturm via phone and begin your journey of healing. The process is easy and comprehensive to those seeking treatment. Don’t let distance stop you from getting the quality healthcare that you need.