People now consider many things even before assessing medical treatment options. How effective is it? Is it expensive or cheaper compared to close alternatives? How safe is it? And above all, how accessible is it. If anything at all, modern medicine has rapidly evolved to create space for many innovations. This rebranding also considers the fact that innovations must be safe and easily available for many patients. After all, safety and accessibility should be important features in all programs with humans receiving healthcare inclusive.
The process of getting treated for many diseases always starts with a doctor examining a patient conducting an expert diagnosis. Conventional hospital visits involve a patient-doctor interactive session. In this setup, all clerking, diagnosing, and patient management procedures are completed in a physical meeting scheduled by the doctor. In many parts of the world, this method of assessing therapy remains predominantly practiced. It has survived many years, and it is standing to survive more.
Modern Medicine, Technology and Online Doctor Services
Technological advancement in medical practice has affected every aspect of healthcare delivery. Recently, many healthcare facilities and state-sponsored care programs have introduced different means of delivering patient-specific care using the internet. These methods improve on the traditional patient-doctor physical meeting and make therapy easily accessible. Delivering healthcare over the internet might sound futuristic; however, the idea is here already and fast becoming the norm in many climes.
Online doctors who use the internet to communicate with the patients are certified practitioners and are required to secure the necessary approval required for these services. Depending on regional regulations applicable to these services, patients might be required to register and submit valid data that helps the online doctors properly determine the medications and appropriate therapy plan to adopt.
This practice of exploring technological advancement in audio-visual and communication tech in medicine is popularly called Telemedicine. In simple terms, telemedicine integrates modern medicine with innovations in digital and communication technology. By offering a viable alternative to conventional hospital visits, telemedicine’s benefits to the medical practitioner and the patient are limitless in perspective. With a secure and reliable internet connection, both parties can discuss medical interests remotely and set up a monitoring system to track therapy effectiveness.
How Online Doctor Services Help Patients
Suppose telemedicine offers a viable alternative to bring healthcare closer to the patient without physically visiting the doctor’s clinic. In that case, it is logical for new enrollees to ask how this service is set up. Online doctor services move the patient-doctor interface to a digital server. The complete digital healthcare service delivery module primarily involved three interacting parties –the patient, a team of online doctors, and a Digital Solution Network Provider. The online doctor supplies the expert medical knowledge needed to directly care for the patient. The Digital Solution Network Provider stays at the head of the line and provides the technological software that ultimately links the doctor to the patient.
In many online doctor services, patients are mandated to register and supply a series of preliminary personal data needed to document a medical history at the doctor’s end. Many online doctor services have a digital databank of patient medical records either accessible to the patient at all times or available only on request. An online appointment schedule is agreed upon. Online consultations are arranged as a two-way digital interactive section between the doctor and the patient. Some online doctor service also provides digital healthcare delivery to patients anonymously.
Audio-visual prompt provided by the Digital Solution Network Provider allows the online doctor to conduct an informed diagnosis before finally adopting a therapy plan. Using the visual prompts, patients can send in pictorial depictions of structural malformations. Alternatively, the online doctor can simply examine malformations through the real-time video interface. Laboratory investigations can be ordered online, or the patient can be referred to a close laboratory for this test. The results of medical investigations can also be submitted remotely. On reviewing these results, an online doctor can proceed with issuing an online prescription to the patient.
How do I Get an Online Prescription?
Online prescriptions are generated remotely by the doctor and sent over a secured network to a patient or a pharmacy close to the patient. Except these prescriptions are only presented digitally, they are not inherently different from paper prescription issued by a doctor in the clinic. Online prescriptions contain the patient’s personal data and a list of recommended medications in a specified dose for an ailment. With a validity unequivocally backed by the law, online prescriptions can be presented at registered pharmacies. If presented over a secured network, the patient only reports to the pharmacy with an identification code confirming the ownership of the prescription.
How Safe is an Online Prescription?
Online prescriptions are completely safe. Online doctors are certified and specially trained to deliver healthcare remotely. It is expected that the medications prescribed by the doctor are recommended at a safe dose. An online prescription presented at a pharmacy is also subjected to expert scrutiny before filling by a certified pharmacist. Considering the expertise of an online doctor and the pharmacist’s expert review, the risk of ending up with an unsafe online prescription is extremely close to zero.
Many online doctor services have developed a digital monitoring plan to assess the efficacy of medication prescribed online. Patients can send in subjective data about the level of relief from the ailment under therapy. Monitoring plans are especially effective in Substance Use Disorder therapies and in the management of skin infections. Online doctors can routinely evaluate treatment effectiveness and simultaneously monitor for unwanted drug reactions in patients.
Since the monitoring plan and prescription review sessions are conducted online, an online doctor can also modify the drug dosage to achieve the desired therapy goal. Securing a prescription online is a relatively new practice in modern medicine; however, the safety of these prescriptions can be guaranteed in many cases. Telemedicine is fast becoming a viable too to decreasing the over-reliance on conventional healthcare delivery methods, unburdening medical professionals in stressful physical appointments, and improving the global health indices.
