The Role Of Telemedicine In Doctor Home Care Services
- Admin
- 08 April, 2024
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October 07, 2024
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The invention of the telephone was certainly a landmark in the realm of long-distance communication. Since then, new technologies have emerged and made communication increasingly simpler. We are now at a stage where doctors can consult their patients over calls.
Thanks to modern technology, healthcare professionals have started offering services like doctor on call and home nursing services with the help of telemedicine. Introduced long back, telemedicine has evolved significantly with time, making healthcare services more accessible than they have ever been.
Before diving deeper into the role of telemedicine in home care, let us briefly understand this innovation.
As the name suggests, telemedicine is a branch of healthcare services where doctors consult their patients using telecommunications technology. Initially, these services were limited to traditional phone calls. Patients would call their doctors and explain their symptoms in detail. According to these symptoms, the doctors would diagnose them and prescribe suitable medications.
However, these services were limited to mild health complications. In 2024, this is not the case. We live in the age of digitization. Doctors are now capable of connecting with their patients over video calls, offering the latest version of doctor on call services. These services involve virtual consultation where doctors can track their patients’ vitals in real-time and diagnose them accordingly.
The role of modern telemedicine in home care is immense. It has made quality healthcare accessible to all patients and brought holistic medical care to your fingertips. With technological advancements in the healthcare domain, it is safe to say that telemedicine still has a long way to go!
Over time, telemedicine has found applications across multiple medical specialties and settings. Let us have a look at some of the most noteworthy applications of this approach:
Many general physicians offer personalized primary care to their patients through telemedicine. It is common for an individual to call up their family doctor and consult them practically any time of the day. However, this is not the case with every healthcare professional as most of them have dedicated working hours. Nevertheless, virtual primary care helps you tackle a range of non-serious health conditions like colds, rashes, flu, and minor injuries. Timely primary care ensures that your condition doesn’t worsen and turn life-threatening.
It is common for patients to consult their doctors virtually to tackle chronic illnesses like diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and more. Here, doctors ensure remote health monitoring at home over a longer period of time. These services are often accompanied by long-term nursing care. Qualified caregivers assist patients until they recover and have beaten their chronic illnesses.
Virtual doctor-patient interactions are most common in the case of mental health issues. Many patients feel more secure and confident without visiting their doctors physically. Moreover, counseling and therapy often work well without the need for the two parties to meet each other in person. Patients can talk to their therapists virtually and receive tailor-made consultations from mental health experts.
Modern technology has made it possible for doctors to monitor their patients’ health without seeing them in person. Many professionals offering doctor on call services use devices powered by technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) to consult their patients. They can measure vitals like their patients’ blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and much more without visiting them.
Patients also consult their doctors over audio and video calls after surgeries. These consultations revolve around helping a patient lead a normal life again by making their body function normally after surgery. From physical therapy to post-partum care, such services help several patients seek holistic medical care from qualified healthcare professionals.
Telemedicine is not limited to diagnosing and treating patients. They also involve doctors counseling their patients and educating them about important health complications. Whether your doctor explains the symptoms of your disease and helps you navigate the same or gives you valuable information in general, such virtual doctor-patient interactions are always worth participating in.
In the case of medical emergencies, having quick and direct access to doctors is always helpful. You can save a patient’s life if you connect them with their doctor at once and follow the healthcare professional’s instructions until they reach the nearest hospital. Such healthcare support is even more potent if a patient is already looked after by home care nurses and caregivers.
Telemedicine continues to revolutionize your approach to healthcare. Having virtually 24/7 access to doctors is nothing short of a blessing for many patients.
Here are the most important benefits of telemedicine in home care services:
One of the biggest benefits of telemedicine in home care services is that it prevents patients from traveling to hospitals multiple times. Instead of physically visiting your doctor, virtual consultations help you reach them with a few simple taps. This also prevents a patient’s family members from visiting them regularly as they are treated in the comfort of their home.
Telemedicine removes all the complications and hassles involved in making multiple hospital visits and consulting doctors in person. Having access to a doctor from your home gives you the utmost comfort. This relaxes a patient and has a direct impact on their recovery. A home is usually the most comfortable place for an individual and services like these give them maximum comfort as they tackle health complications.
Patients and their family members often fear hefty hospital bills the moment they enter the premises. Especially if you need long-term care, staying at a hospital is likely to burn deep holes into your pockets. Telemedicine keeps you away from these hospital bills and ensures cost-effective medical care. At the end of the day, it is just a few calls made to your doctor, without them visiting you in person. These services are much more affordable than making hospital visits.
If you or your loved ones are suffering from chronic illnesses, telemedicine is the best way to stay in touch with your doctor for a long time. Many general physicians make themselves available to their patients for an extended period of time as they battle chronic conditions. Depending on their health, patients may also consult their doctors virtually for the rest of their lives. Diseases like diabetes and asthma often stay forever, making chronic disease management even more important.
Many healthcare experts offer doctor on call services beyond their conventional working hours. This implies that they chose to offer these services. Under such circumstances, doctors are under no pressure to get done on time and go to the next patient immediately. Most telemedicine consultations are fulfilling and lead to better patient engagement. By the end of the session, a patient is not only a healthy individual but also earns a mentor for life!
When you visit a doctor at a hospital or clinic, you are likely to wait for several minutes (or hours) before the doctor sees you. Waiting at a hospital is not the best experience for most patients and their loved ones. While telemedicine is not devoid of waiting, the wait times here are lesser. Also, waiting from the comfort of your home is always a better option than sitting outside a doctor’s cabin for a long time.
As you wait for long hours at a doctor’s hospital, you expose yourself to a variety of germs. If a patient is already sick, they should not stay in such an environment for too long. The same is true if they are admitted to a hospital.
With telemedicine, you can almost eliminate the risk of infections. You need not worry about getting infected if you are consulting your doctor virtually.
Most elderly patients are not able to make frequent hospital visits. They also prefer recovering at home instead of being admitted to a hospital. Telemedicine is ideal for such patients, giving them access to quality healthcare without leaving their homes.
Virtual consultations allow older patients to stay with their loved ones while being treated. If you have an elderly patient at home, you would know how stubborn they can get when sick!
If you or any of your loved ones wish to recover without leaving home, Docville offers state-of-the-art telemedicine services. With a team of skilled general physicians and dedicated nursing staff, we offer remote healthcare services equipped with modern technologies. With Docville, you have access to the finest healthcare professionals in Mumbai and Thane. Our services are designed to eliminate any difference between conventional hospital visits and services like doctor on call. Moreover, our home nursing services take complete care of our patients, putting them on the road to recovery in the best way possible!
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