Female doctor in her surgery office with headset in front of her laptop, an x-ray of a foot in hand, talking with a senior patient, telemedicine concept
Did you know that one in ten Americans use telehealth? The study found that 75% of Americans didn’t know about telemedicine or couldn’t get access to it.
Meanwhile, in Australia, 49% of people said that they wouldn’t use virtual hospitals, while 20% said that they would use telehealth to reduce costs.
So, what is telehealth and what are the benefits of telemedicine? Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about telemedicine.
What Is Telehealth?
Telehealth, or telemedicine as it is also referred to, is virtual medical assessments and information. Instead of going in to see your doctor, you can use electronic communications to get a diagnosis and to come up with a suitable treatment plan.
Telemedicine has been around for several decades, but with technological advancements, it’s now easier than ever to see and speak to your doctor online.
What Are the Benefits of Telemedicine?
There are lots of telehealth benefits, both for doctors and for patients. We’ve compiled a list of 5 telemedicine benefits, but there are many more.
1. Access to Essential Care
One of the main benefits of telehealth is that it provides access to essential care.
Distance, travel time, and world pandemics can restrict and limit the care that patients can receive. But telemedicine can help to ensure that care is provided for all, despite their geographical location or other factors.
2. Improves Patient Engagement
Another of the key advantages of telemedicine is that it can improve patient engagement while lowering healthcare costs. Remote health consultants can act as coaches or counselors.
They can provide constant help, information, and encouragement for patients, this is particularly useful for those with chronic health conditions.
3. Offers Greater Convenience and Flexibility
Patients who use telehealth systems report greater levels of satisfaction because they believe it is convenient.
Telemedicine also provides greater flexibility, so they can schedule appointments that suit them. This means that patients don’t need to take time off work or take time away from childcare or other commitments.
4. Better Care Quality
Patients can expect a better quality of care with telemedicine as this real-time healthcare system is focused on the patient.
Traditional appointments might see patients waiting days, weeks, or even months, to be seen by a healthcare professional, but this isn’t the case with telehealth. Instead, patients can instantly access real-time urgent care consultations and find a treatment plan that is right for them.
5. Saves Money for Patients
Telehealth visits can save patients a lot of money. For example, you don’t need to pay travel costs, parking, childcare, or have to take time off work.
However, access to virtual healthcare can help cut those costs. All you need is a phone, laptop, or another digital device to communicate with your consultant.
If you’re looking for an online consultation, check out Therapy Works. This company offers one-on-one private and personalized telehealth consultations.
Access Appointments and Your Doctor With Ease
As you can see there are many great benefits of telemedicine. The main one that might convince you that telemedicine is a good idea for you is that you can access appointments and see your doctor easily.
If you found this article insightful, be sure to check out some of our other lifestyle and family articles.
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