What Is Telemedicine? | All You Need To Know

Telemedicine is a way of consulting a professional healthcare provider over a virtual tool or medium. According to the World Health Organization, telemedicine is about “healing from a distance”. Which means a person can remotely consult a doctor without having to be face to face with him. Telemedicine has been benefitting people vastly since its advent, for many living far away from hospitals were unable to visit a doctor in time or due to travel inconvenience. However, with telemedicine, such people were able to consult a healthcare provider without the hassle of travelling long distances.

History Of Telemedicine

Telemedicine dates back to 1879 where the idea was suggested in a Lancet report.

Then in a science magazine in 1922 there was a tele dactyl feature by Dr. Hugo Gernsback. He had predicted about this device that gives sensory feedback, that by using this, the doctors will be able to look at their patients through a TV screen and check them using robotic arms.

In 1948 in Pennsylvania, two medical staffs from different hospitals 24 miles apart has shared radiologic images over the telephone.

After that in 1959, at the University of Nebraska the doctors displayed questions for neurological examinations to the students in the campus over a two way interactive television. 5 years from then the physicians were enabled from a closed-circuit television to provide psychiatric consultations to patients 112 miles away.

Although, this service had started off limited to only verbal contact with the doctor but now after seeing the vast technical changes, telemedicine includes the transmission of digital images, videos and even live consultancies where the doctor can examine the patient with the help of voice and video clarity.

Vast Benefits Of Telemedicine

Telemedicine is the ease in consultancy and prescription methods for both the physician and patient and is an aspect of digitalized technology. Just like all kinds of technology that have made our lives easier and our tasks quicker to perform, similarly has telemedicine been and is benefitting people greatly.

Following are the benefits of using telemedicine

Saving on travel cost and time: with telemedicine, the person does not have to spend on fuel or travel costs. Since they get to consult the healthcare professional within the comfort of the place they are at.

No more waiting for the turn for consultancy: the obvious hours of waiting time at a consultant clinic for one’s turn to arrive are excluded while acquiring a telemedicine service. Your needs will be met at the scheduled appointment time without you having to wait within a medical vicinity.

Healthcare service for people living in remote areas: people living in remote areas are the ones that mostly suffer from delayed treatments due to lack of healthcare service centers near them. So this remote service helps them in acquiring quick consultancy and prescriptions while being at a far distance.

Saving one from the hospital blues: many people fear catching diseases while being close to or at a place of sickness and diseases. For them telemedicine is ideal, because they do not have to visit the place full of germs and contagious diseases in the air.

Easy appointment schedules: telemedicine New York comes with scheduling easy appointments which suit your need unlike the in-house ones where you have to fit yourself in as per the availability of the healthcare provider and schedule of the other patients in line.

Early consultancy can help cure the health issue earlier: due to lack of free time and less chances of getting offs from work, many people tend to neglect the need of consulting a doctor for health problems. This issue can be solved with telemedicine since such people do not need to take several hours off from work to visit a doctor and can rather acquire reliable consultancy within a few minutes.