Everyone is busy reimagining the who, where, how, and what of work in the new normal. The old rhythm of work — offices, the structure of timings, commutes- have disappeared and humanity is now presented with an opportunity to do things better. The disruptive craziness created by the pandemic has allowed us to reinvent work better. With the evacuation of the old designs, all the deterrents of previously — language, time, actual presence, and so forth — have been removed, and a new, radically inclusive, hyper collaborative work world was created. Working from home has become the common theme in the IT industry and it is going nowhere even after the risks from the pandemic are reduced and things are going to have returned to the normal generally. Similarly, online medical consultation or teleconsulting platform, which forms a part of telemedicine, has emerged as one of the attractive modern tools for patients that are not able to travel and those who want to have a second opinion for the disease that they are already suffering from.
Teleconsultation in India has become an innovative method and the best option to connect to the available doctors in the country. The patients can get a fair amount of idea of the disease and the future course of action for the remedy of the same. The various online platforms that have come up in recent times offering teleconsultation services also offer additional services wherein the past medical and medication records can be uploaded and the same can be shared with the doctor with the patient’s consent. The other significant advantage of tele healthcare is that the major hurdle of long waiting times for consulting famous doctors is overcome and both patient and the doctor can schedule the consultation at a time which is mutually convenient. Many platforms also offer free online doctor consultation for the first appointment and if the patient is satisfied with the consultation, he can pay for the follow-up appointments. Let’s know more in-depth about teleconsultation, its ways, and its benefits.
- What is Teleconsultation?
- In Which Medical Field Teleconsultation is Helpful?
- Types of Teleconsultation Service
- Benefits of Teleconsultation
- Teleconsultation: An On-Demand Option in COVID-19 Pandemic
- Future of Teleconsultation in India
- Mediflam: Online Health Consultation Provider
- What is Teleconsultation?
Teleconsultation means telehealth or remote consultation, wherein the patient and the specialised doctor have a medical interaction through a digital platform, and the doctor understands the health problems of the patient and diagnoses the issue. These technologies can be used from anywhere, home, office, or in the world and are the best achievement in the healthcare system.
- In Which Medical Field Teleconsultation is Helpful?
Teleconsultation is one of the most innovative methods in the medical field and can be very useful to every one of us be it a doctor or a patient. According to a survey conducted, it can be said the below medical streams are most benefited from teleconsultation.
- Dermatology
- Neurology
- Psychiatrist
- Cardiology
- Infectious disease or so
- Rheumatology
- Gastroenterology
- Homeopathy
- Types of Teleconsultation Service
There are many different ways of teleconsultation services and each one has its advantages and disadvantages. These are- live video conferencing, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Store-and-Forward.
- Live Video Conferencing
Live Video Conferencing is one way of the teleconsultation services. In this type, the doctor or the provider and the patient interact with each other with a live video chat. The interaction may also involve one or two doctors in real-time.
This video conferencing telehealth helps in interchanging the information in a more transparent form and for any important follow-up questions to be asked. This method is a quick, easy, and very effective way of telehealth service. And this type can be used for any urgent care needed, follow-ups, chronic illness, or primary care. And, one can be assured that the information transmitted between the doctor and the patient is fully confidential.
- Remote Patient Monitoring
When the healthcare providers can examine the activities and conditions of their patient from a distance, is it known as tele monitoring or remote patient monitoring. This method is used for high-risk patients e.g. the ones who just got discharged from the hospital or patients with heart conditions.
This is also known as self-monitoring, self-testing, or patient monitoring system and uses extensive technological devices to diagnose the health signs of the patient even in remote areas. This method is used for managing patients suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular diseases.
There are certain benefits of this technique such as greater satisfaction level of the patient, cost-effectiveness, and frequent monitoring of the patient. Old-age patients or the ones living in remote areas can easily use this method conveniently.
- Store-and-forward
In the Store-and-forward telehealth method, the medical reports of the patients like imaging studies, any videos, lab reports or any other records are shared with the specialist doctor be it a radiologist, physician, or anyone located in a completely different location. For security and keeping the privacy intact, the reports are not transferred through email, the model used to transfer has a built-in solution, which provides complete security and confidentiality to the patient records.
Store-and-forward telemedicine is the best suitable for patients who are located in remote areas and the best way of collaboration between the health care providers, patients, and doctors. Different time zones, locations, and long distances also don’t come across this method.
This method is commonly used for the treatment and diagnosis of specialists including radiology, homeopathy, psychiatrist, dermatology, and ophthalmology.
- Benefits of Teleconsultation
Telehealth is beneficial to both the doctor and the patient, allowing the doctor to reach their patient wherever and whenever they want, or one can say can reach them at any place having an internet connection. So let’s know in detail the benefits of teleconsultation:
- Benefit for the Patients
The major benefits of telehealth are more essential to the patients. It makes it quite simpler for the health providers to conduct a follow-up with the patients and to ensure that the patients are doing good. Be it any type of teleconsultation, live video chat, or remote patient monitoring system, the provider gives the best of his/her services which in turn contributes to better patient satisfaction and care management. And, the patients can get in touch with their doctor frequently which develops a strong bond between them.
- Telehealth is cost-effective
These days, it is said that going to a doctor can pinch our pocket hard. But we all can be grateful for the telemedicine cost and benefits, which helps to manage the doctor visits fees and saves time. With the help of telehealth, the patient can connect with the doctor through a phone, laptop, or any digital device and just needs good internet connectivity. This saves the traveling expenses, parking, and saves a lot of time. Also, the patients in the rural areas have to travel to other urban cities to see a doctor, this technique eases the hassle for the patient. So, the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine is the biggest advantage for everyone.
- Safe in COVID-19 Pandemic
The other significant advantage of an online platform is to avoid contracting communicable diseases by physically visiting a clinical setting. This is because hospitals and clinics are usually beaming with patients suffering from various dangerous diseases that can be transmitted. This has especially proved to be a boon in the present scenario as COVID 19 doesn’t seem to stop anywhere and is spreading like a wildfire. So to contact a doctor online during the COVID-19 Pandemic was one of the safe and convenient ways.
- Helps in Saving Time
This is mainly related to the full-time employed people who find it very difficult to spare a few hours to visit a clinic for problems that may present as annoying but are quite innocuous. The long commuting hours that are involved in the process of visiting a hospital can break the routine and lead to the loss of productive man-hours. The second class of people who seem to be the most benefitted is the geriatric population , people who are old and find it very difficult to visit a doctor due to the presence of other ailments.
- Better Options for Each treatment
An online medical treatment can be beneficial for the doctor and even to the patient as the doctor examines the patient in his/her home only. For instance, if a person is an allergenic, and consults the doctor online. This allows the doctor to also come across his surroundings which might be one of the reasons for his/her allergies. So with help of teleconsultation it not only becomes easier for the doctor to consult but also he can provide better options relating to your treatment.
- Teleconsultation: An On-Demand Option in COVID-19 Pandemic
This goes without a second thought that telehealth and telemedicine demand boomed in the COVID-19 Pandemic times. As per a survey conducted by the Economic times, it can be said that teleconsultation has grown by three times post the pandemic.
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When we talk about other countries, teleconsultation has already been adopted by the people, we Indians also have adapted to this technology way fast post this pandemic. This simple technique of consulting patients online is an excellent way to reach people even in remote areas, maintain the cost and time invested, and very much beneficial to elderly people and kids.
- Future of Teleconsultation in India
Digital innovations can play an important role in saving people’s lives. The most recent example of a man in India is a beautiful testimony to this. The man owned an Apple smartwatch. He observed abnormalities in his ECG pattern and immediately consulted a cardiologist. He was diagnosed with a critical disease and operated for the same thus saving his life by getting timely treatment. Online consultation can also prove to be a boon for the physically challenged people who have been ignored for a long time and their access to quality healthcare has been practically denied.
With the development of manpower and IT in the medical field, it is for sure that teleconsultation in India has a great future and will surely emerge as a leader in the field of telehealth.
So, as the innovations become more perfect and synchronized in the future, much can be achieved in almost all the fields including the online consultation platform. Someone has rightly said, “Change is the only constant!” Let us embrace this beautiful change and head towards a more inclusive and collaborative future.
- Mediflam: Online Health Consultation Provider
Mediflam is an online health check-up provider, an initiative taken by the Flamingo group of companies. With Mediflam you can reach some of the best specialists and doctors and get an accurate check-up done.
So for any more details on online consultation, you can contact our health service provider. We will be happy to serve you.
