Telehealth is far more than just apps and video calls.
Telemedicine and telehealth predate even the concept of the Internet. Doctors and patients have attempted to communicate at a distance since ancient Greece, where Achilles’ injuries were communicated via smoke signals. With the spread of Internet access and pandemic events of 2020, telehealth is even more current and pressing.
Distinguishing between Telehealth and Telemedicine
Though telehealth and telemedicine are used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings. Telehealth is a term that encompasses everything related to health, such as:
- nutrition apps
- activity trackers
- reminders to take medication
Telemedicine is considered a subset of telehealth, describing remote clinical services such as patient diagnosis and monitoring.
The Growth of Telehealth
Teleheath has expanded in uneven, and sometimes unexpected, ways. For example, smart watches struggled as a market segment until their usefulness as an activity tracker were realized. Now, Apple sells more watches than the entire Swiss segment. Similarly, the rise of connected exercise equipment and apps, such as Peloton, have seen 66% growth in sales and record participation year over year.
Part of the reason telehealth, as a treatment delivery option, has suddenly exploded in popularity is a temporary relaxation by government authorities of the the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Many preferred patient videoconferencing platforms, such as Facebook Messenger and Zoom, don’t meet HIPAA requirements, meaning physicians can’t use them for certain activities. However, the current situation may shift attitudes and laws.
How Does Telehealth Help Overcome Barriers to Care?
Telehealth is an attractive way to ensure proper care for a growing population in terms of:
- Location
- Privacy
- Mobility
- Cost
Location: As of early 2020, there were 1,821 rural hospitals in America, according to the American Hospital Association. Unfortunately, the rate of closures in this sector has steadily increased since 2010, reaching just over 1% in 2019. Telehealth provides a wider range of medical services to underserved communities, allowing specialists to remotely perform initial consults and other services without requiring patients to travel long distances to meet with them.
Privacy: Some aspect of health care, such as mental health, still labor under a social stigma that patients struggle to accept. Telehealth allows them to receive the help they need in a setting they prefer, all the while protecting their privacy.
Mobility: Some patients simply cannot leave their homes or cannot access specialists. With telehealth, doctors can engage in consults and provide analysis to these patients even if they lack a vehicle or access to public transportation.
Cost: Telehealth is generally less expensive than in-person treatments and consultations. This has been particularly true for the provision of health education, appointment reminders, and check-ins during a course of treatment.
What do Google Trends Tell Us about Telehealth?
This chart tracks how popular a term is relative to other search terms in the same category, with a term ranking 100 being the most popular. Telehealth barely reached a score of 10 until mid-March 2020, and then it became one of the most popular terms for the latter half of March.
Over the last three months, you can see distinct peaks and valleys as well as telehealth settles into a new, higher level of interest that’s likely to be sustained.
Looking at city search terms, over the last three months, COVID-19 hotspots like New York and Chicago have seen strong interest in the term.
Telehealth is necessary to limit contact with those infected and to assist doctors in remotely diagnosing non-COVID conditions. Both doctors and patients seem to prefer in-person care where possible, but are willing to use these tools for non-urgent medical concerns. This may be positive news for men who are struggling with ED-related stigma.
How can Men with ED Leverage Telehealth?
ED treatment has been one of the market leaders in telehealth, out of necessity. Not everyone can (or wants to) sit down with a doctor in-person and discuss intimate matters. With telehealth tools, patients may open up to their physicians. What’s more, these tools can help physicians create a safer space for their patients to openly discuss these problems.
eDrugstore.com has been a leader in the teleheatlh sector for decades. Visit their website to learn how to get a prescription for erectile dysfunction without leaving your house.
Dan is a long-time freelance writer focusing on technology, science, health, and medicine, with a lifelong interest in physics, biology, and medicine. His work has taken a particular focus on scientific studies “beyond the headlines,” reading the study to more closely examine the results.