In this brief article we will discuss what telemedicine is, as well as the advantages that it brings when compared to traditional medicine and doctor visits.
Telemedicine software is a program or application that allows doctors and other medical service providers to care for their patients remotely without having to meet at a doctor’s office or hospital. Your standard visit is therefore done digitally face-to-face (through webcam or video calling) and in the event further tests or treatment is needed the patient can be referred to a clinic, specialist, or testing site, or have a prescription sent to their pharmacist.
Rather than a patient having to wait for (sometimes hours) in a waiting room at a doctor’s office or clinic, doctors give a specific time for the patient to be logged on to the app and they can treat the patient from the comfort of their home.
Doctors are able to see many more patients with telemedicine software, and they can typically treat them more quickly then if the patient is at their office.
Even before the global pandemic of 2020, there were risks involved with going to the doctors. Elderly patients or patients with weakened immune systems faced the risk of infection from the close proximity to other potentially ill patients, while at the same time doctors risked infection from their patients. Not having everyone stuck together in a small room reduces the risk to doctors and their patients.
Telemedicine software allows patients and doctors to communicate safely, securely, and privately about medical issues and concerns through in-software video calling. The patient is scheduled for a certain time, at which point the doctor calls the patient through the app, and they are connected to discuss the medical issue. Based on the conversation, the doctor can write a prescription, request blood or other tests, refer the patient to another doctor, or request a follow-up appointment (digitally or in person) if needed.
