Current pandemic conditions make us more familiar with the digital world, but did you know that healthcare is also available virtually? Telehealth isn’t a brand new way of providing healthcare services, but it gained great popularity now when social distances are essential. Using a telehealth option, patients can consult their physicians via phone call or video chat, but these functionalities don’t limit a list of its features. Today, we’ll discuss what telehealth is and how does telehealth work for patients.
What is telehealth?
Telehealth is defined as the use of telecommunication technologies for providing telemedicine, medical, and health education over the distance. In other words, this term means offering health care or education via phone or video chats.
Telehealth might include several aspects, like consultations with a physician, prescriptions made by virtual appointments, sharing of information, and diagnosis. It is also important to distinguish between telehealth and telemedicine, often confusing. Telemedicine is associated with the particular service delivered to a patient, while telehealth is a delivery method.
How does telehealth work?
In most cases, healthcare practitioners aren’t required to ensure patients such telehealth consultations or appointments. Anyway, it is their choice whether to be engaged in telehealth or not. Typically, telehealth services are conducted by a doctor or healthcare provider the same as with in-person appointments.
The main difference is that a patient will speak to a doctor on the phone or see a provider on a screen without leaving their home. Since state laws commonly regulate telehealth, insurance can cover virtual consultations.
Types of telehealth
Different people have different health requests, so there are different telehealth options to suit these requirements. Each medical specialist can select one solution for a particular situation. Here are the common telehealth types:
1. Video conferences
This type of telehealth remains the most widespread among patients. To conduct live video conferencing, a patient needs to set a time for an appointment via a website or app and then call a doctor for the consultation via Skype or FaceTime.
However, some patients find it more convenient to contact a physician on the phone. During an appointment, a healthcare provider can talk to a patient about what is bothering them and how they feel. Considering the medical history, a doctor can even write some prescriptions.
2. Asynchronous telehealth
This approach incorporates taking photos of the affected area and then sending them to a doctor. It can significantly save time since there is no need to set an appointment. Asynchronous telehealth can be efficient, especially for dermatologists.
3. Remote patient monitoring
Different electronic devices are used to collect data about a patient and send it to a physician during remote patient monitoring. This telehealth approach is perfect for patients with chronic diseases since doctors can remotely track their conditions and vital indicators.