Over the last few years, human medicine has evolved rapidly, and the scope of optimal patient care has proportionally expanded. Currently, depending on regional health policies, the idea of treating patients using innovative digital health solutions and advanced communication technologies. This new idea –also referred to as Telemedicine –involves exploring technology to deliver healthcare to patients remotely. No doubt, this method is a milestone improvement from the conventional arrangement of on-site patient-doctor appointments.
Accordingly, many healthcare providers around the world have healthcare plans that are balanced on remote delivery. This means patients can now easily receive adequate care in the comfort of their homes. This arrangement also completely removes the stress of long-distance travel and long-term hospital admissions. Patients on these remote healthcare delivery plans can multitask and effectively carryout self-supervised healthcare monitoring plans. As expected, many reviews and medical publications have reported numerous academic editorials studying remote healthcare effectiveness in selected patients.
Although still evolving, Telemedicine is becoming increasingly popular in the global health industry. A 2019 Grand View Research estimates that the global telemedicine market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.1% within the 2020-2027 forecast period. By 2026, the telemedicine market is projected to reach $186 billion. This is a huge increase from the 2018 calculated worth of $34 billion. The points, telemedicine is fast becoming integrated into conventional medical practice, have become popular to a large extent.
Know the Telemedicine Team Members and Workflow Structure
Regardless of the method adopted by different healthcare facilities, remote healthcare delivery through telemedicine is always directed towards reducing a patient’s frequency of hospital visits. While telemedicine has long been proved to be as effective as onsite hospital appointments, not all medical facilities have integrated this innovation into their routine operations. In all its settings, a telemedicine platform basically has the same workflow and team structure. At the peak of the ladder is the Digital Solution Network Provider, supplying the needed technological input that ultimately connects an Online Doctor with a stream of Registered Patients.
In many cases, health facilities streamline their patients’ pool to identify patients that qualify and can benefit optimally from remote healthcare delivery. Patients who live in a far distance, diagnosed with a minor illness, and with access to stable internet connections are normally placed on a telemedicine assessment plan, where available. For independent Online Doctor Services, a team of certified doctors can register for a remote telemedicine platform. Depending on regional legislation guiding telemedicine, this team can fulfill the requirements, partner with a Digital Health Solutions Service Provider, and launch its brand of remote healthcare delivery channel. Patients registered on this channel can consult an online doctor, secure a valid prescription, and receive updated medical tips on optimal health monitoring schedules.
Many healthcare facilities and agencies now have a service option that covers patients after-treatment monitoring. This basically involves real-time evaluation of patients’ response to therapy. This service enables Online doctors to modify an online prescription, receive real-time updates on a patient’s recovery, and recommend a specialist referral if necessary. Although the workflow and team structure for a telemedicine provider might not be as complex as in actual clinics, however, the team structure might require inputs from many professionals. Depending on the module adopted, a basic telemedicine team and workflow structure might also include administrative representatives, appointment schedulers, information technology personnel, patient advisory team, billing managers, and insured contractors.
Illnesses an Online Doctor Can Treat
Remote healthcare delivery services with online doctors are designed to offer remote patients care. In many cases, the illnesses treated by online doctors are minor illnesses that require no form of serious hospitalization. In erectile dysfunction, online doctors can assess the severity of penile erection impairment by posing a series of questions to the patient. By using a two-way communication channel, the patient can provide real-time answers that enable the online doctor to accurately determine the severity of the sexual condition. Treating erectile dysfunction in telemedicine starts with the online doctor determining if the cause of impairment s organic or directly linked with an underlying health condition.
Online doctors can also provide adequate care for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI). In the early stages of these infections, the symptoms observed by patients are nonspecific and can suggest other conditions unrelated to the correct diagnosis. By consulting an online doctor, a confused patient can easily relate the range of symptoms observed and get an accurate diagnosis. By using the advanced communication module offered by the telemedicine software vendor, the doctor can also recommend a series of laboratory tests to pinpoint the cause of disease or the optimal therapy method to adopt. An online doctor can also issue an online prescription or refer the patient to a specialist for further medical examinations.
Telemedicine is also becoming popular in the management and monitoring of patients with endocrinology and cardiovascular abnormalities. In poorly controlled high blood pressure, an online doctor can be consulted to set up a real-time ambulatory blood pressure measurement, modify an existing prescription, and assess the possibility of end-organ damage. Patient response to selected medications can be tracked easily, and the online doctor can formulate a non-pharmacological care plan involving healthy dieting and lifestyle modification plan for the patient. Ambulatory blood pressure measurement has long been proven to solve the problem of White Coat Hypertension. This has further reinforced the position of online doctors in the management of hypertension.
In Diabetes, a patient with a confirmed diagnosis requires no immediate hospital admission except in the cases of diabetic emergencies. An online can provide around-the-clock monitoring of a diabetic patient, my supervising self-measurement of blood sugar. Values taken daily are reported through real-time two-communication technology. A patient’s response to a series of prescribed antidiabetic medications can be assessed. Should there be a need for a medication review, an online doctor can issue a modified online prescription over a secure server. Online prescriptions issue by a certified online doctor is safe, valid, legal, and can be filled by a registered pharmacist.
The number of minor illness an online doctor can monitor and manage are limitless and in many cases, depends on the severity of the disease condition. This explains why many healthcare facilities are now modifying their healthcare delivery channels to accommodate telemedicine.
