The use of telehealth is becoming more and more prevalent in the medical field. If you’re not familiar with the term, telehealth is defined as the use of electronic communications to support clinical care. It could include anything from secure video conferencing to store-and-forward imaging. As a healthcare professional, it’s essential to be aware of telehealth’s benefits to your patients.
Telehealth is a great way to provide quality care to patients who may not travel for treatment. It also allows doctors and other medical professionals to connect with patients remotely.
If you’re new to telehealth or want a refresher, this telehealth quick guide is for you. In it, we’ll go over the basics, from how it works and other essential things you need to know, such as training and getting started.
So, whether you’re in charge of a healthcare organization’s telehealth program, or are looking into using telehealth technology for your treatment, read on for everything you need to get started.
Contents
What Is Telehealth Care?
What Are the Benefits of Telehealth in My Profession?
Do I Need to Specialize in Training for Telehealth Quick Guide?
What Are the Other Things I Need to Know About Telehealth Care?
Final Thoughts on Telehealth
What Is Telehealth Care?
Telehealth, sometimes known as telemedicine, uses electronic information and telecommunications technologies to transfer medical data between a patient and a doctor or other healthcare professional at another site. Because it enables physicians longer time with their patients by allowing video conferencing, it’s gaining more interest as a way to give access to care where it may not be readily available.
A telehealth visit may be scheduled when a patient has an acute illness that can be treated with short-term remote assistance from a consultant physician. Telehealth may allow a patient who requires constant follow-up from a specialist to see the doctor only once or twice a year.
Although telehealth isn’t intended to take the place of in-person visits, some individuals feel it might help lower healthcare expenditures by allowing patients to communicate with their physicians from home at times more convenient for them.
What Are the Benefits of Telehealth in My Profession?
There are many benefits to using telehealth for healthcare professionals. The most obvious benefit is that it allows healthcare professionals to provide care to patients remotely, which can be especially beneficial in rural areas where there may not be a lot of medical professionals available. Here are some of the benefits worth listing.
#1 Provide Care Remotely
One of the most significant benefits of telehealth is that it allows healthcare professionals to provide care to patients remotely. This can be especially beneficial in rural areas, where there may not be a lot of medical professionals available. By using telehealth, healthcare professionals can connect with patients anywhere in the world.
#2 Improve Patient Outcomes
Another benefit of telehealth is that it can help improve patient outcomes. For example, telehealth can help patients feel more comfortable and supported by real-time assistance and support during their treatment. Additionally, telehealth can help ensure that patients receive the best possible care by allowing healthcare professionals to monitor patients more closely.
#3 Reduce Costs
Telehealth can also help reduce costs by allowing patients to receive care from home instead of requiring them to go to the doctor’s office or hospital. This can be especially helpful for patients who cannot travel or live in rural areas. Additionally, telehealth can help reduce patients’ amount of time in the hospital, saving hospitals money.
Do I Need to Specialize in Training for Telehealth Quick Guide?
Specialized training for physicians has been available in some cases, but recent technological advances have allowed this type of interaction between physician and patient without particular technical expertise.
In many cases, patients can dial into a system by using their telephone and follow the voice prompts for help with connecting to their physician’s video conferencing site. The use of automated technologies makes it possible for non-specialists like nurses and paramedics to perform certain telehealth visits with minimal training.
Telehealth services are just another tool in your clinical armamentarium, so you should already be familiar with how they work and how to navigate them if you’ve ever used online medical resources such as WebMD or Mayo Clinic to self-diagnose symptoms before calling your physician’s office for advice. If this service is provided at your facility, there may be some initial meeting time required to determine which types of telehealth visits will fit with your patient population.
What Are the Other Things I Need to Know About Telehealth Care?
Telehealth can work in several ways, depending on the healthcare professionals’ and patients’ needs. In some cases, telehealth may involve video conferencing to allow healthcare professionals to see and interact with patients remotely.
In other cases, it may involve using digital health tools such as remote patient monitoring or secure email to provide care to patients. Regardless of its use, telehealth typically relies on telecommunications technologies such as the internet, phone lines, and wireless networks to connect healthcare professionals and patients.
If you are not familiar with telehealth services, schedule a time to attend training together on logging on and using your equipment. The physician should also review the specific type of visit that will be provided before making actual contact with the patient to avoid a delay in providing care or unnecessary expenses generated by sending a mobile healthcare professional out to visit a patient for something that can be handled via telehealth services at no cost.
Telehealth visits should be scheduled in advance if possible, so both parties know who is coming when and understand what resources will be required when they meet.
Final Thoughts on Telehealth
Telehealthcare is the future of healthcare. It provides more opportunities for patients to get the care they need and allows providers greater flexibility in how and where they provide that care. If you’re looking to stay ahead of the curve in your field, it’s essential to start thinking about how you can specialize in telehealthcare delivery.
The good news is that this doesn’t require any additional specialized training – most healthcare professionals are already well-equipped to deliver quality telehealthcare services. The tools you need online provide tutorials on how to get started.
Moreover, if you need an extra tool to make your medical practice more efficient, you may also want to check the iFax online fax service to ensure that all your medical reports and files are faxed securely online. iFax allows you to send and receive faxes online without a fax machine. All you need is a mobile device and internet, and you will constantly be updated with incoming and outgoing faxes wherever you go.
Feel free to check out the iFax web interface and explore its features right away.
