{"id":8235,"date":"2015-06-25T22:46:55","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T22:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edrugstore.md\/blog\/?p=8235"},"modified":"2015-06-26T17:55:58","modified_gmt":"2015-06-26T17:55:58","slug":"why-telemedicine-makes-so-much-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/why-telemedicine-makes-so-much-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Telemedicine Makes So Much Sense"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cisco's
Cisco’s TelePresence product line offers a wide array of telemedicine terminals and diagnostic tools.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tired of wasting time in a doctor\u2019s waiting room or the hospital ER? Ever wonder why the doctor didn\u2019t get to see you until 2:45 p.m. even though you had a 2 p.m. appointment. You were expected to be there on time; why wasn\u2019t the doctor?<\/p>\n

It turns out that you\u2019re not alone, which helps to explain the explosive recent growth of telemedicine, which uses telecommunications technology to bring doctor and patient together. As fewer doctors and hospitals attempt to serve an ever-growing demand for their services, many Americans — and people abroad as well — are turning to telemedicine to help close, or at least narrow, this gap between supply and demand.<\/p>\n

Few Like Long Waits <\/b><\/p>\n

This probably comes as no surprise in this increasingly wired era when people everywhere are insisting on instant gratification and have little or no patience for delay or long waits. They are beginning to lose their patience with long waits for medical care and are looking for alternatives that promise more rapid response to their needs.<\/p>\n

In a recent blog posting at the website of U.S. News & World Report Health<\/a>, Vik Bakhru, M.D., chief operating officer of First Opinion, a provider of telemedicine services, cited an interesting report from Vitals.com. In 2015, according to Vitals.com, the average wait time to see a doctor was 19 minutes and 16 seconds. Although that was down a full minute from 2014 wait times, it is still longer than most health consumers want to wait.<\/p>\n

Vitals.com attributes the drop in average wait time for doctors to an increase in alternative care facilities, the growing availability of physician assistants and nurse practitioners, and a rise in concierge medicine. As more and more patients turn to telemedicine options, it is likely that the average wait time will drop even more sharply.<\/p>\n

Many Visits Unnecessary <\/b><\/p>\n

In making his case for even broader adoption of telemedicine, Dr. Bakhru suggests that many of the 1 billion-plus visits to U.S. doctors\u2019 offices could be avoided altogether. \u00a8As a physician, I see many patients whose questions could be addressed using smartphone technology,\u00a8 he says. \u00a8A quick conversation via video chat with a physician could be sufficient in getting the information needed to address these health questions.\u00a8<\/p>\n

As one example of unnecessary doctor\u2019s visits that could be better handled via telemedicine, Dr. Bakhru cites a trip to the physician\u2019s office to get an opinion as to whether a skin irritation is minor or a sign of a more serious underlying condition. In such a scenario, says the doctor, \u00a8having the ability to text message a doctor or text a photo of the affected area to a physician to get an informed opinion on next steps could be a major time saver — not to mention that it gives the patient peace of mind, faster.\u00a8<\/p>\n

\"In
In the United Kingdom, National Health Service patients can access medical services through touch-screen Internet kiosks such as the one pictured above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If such relatively minor visits to the doctor could be handled via telemedicine, says Dr. Bakhru, \u00a8the whole industry will begin to see positive effects as less time and money (are) wasted in the waiting room.\u00a8<\/p>\n

Perils of Self-Diagnosis <\/b><\/p>\n

Patient frustration with protracted waits to see the doctor can sometimes lead to less reliable means of dealing with suspected illness. As one example of such misguided practices, Dr. Bakhru cites the growing tendency to self-diagnose medical conditions based on information gleaned from Internet research. \u00a8But medical experts are called so for a reason, as they are the only ones knowledgeable and qualified [enough] to make health assessments and recommendations.\u00a8<\/p>\n

This is where telemedicine can make a real difference, says Dr. Bakhru, serving as \u00a8a bridge between efficiency and efficacy, between cost-effectiveness and quality of care.\u00a8<\/p>\n

Americans Embrace Telemedicine <\/b><\/p>\n

Almost two-thirds of American adults see video consultations with a doctor as a viable alternative to in-person trips to the doctor\u2019s office or visits to the hospital emergency room. This increasing willingness of U.S. health consumers to adopt the technologies offered by telemedicine has helped to fuel rapid growth in this burgeoning new segment of the medical field.<\/p>\n

American Well, a major player in the telehealth business, in January 2015 published \u00a8Telehealth Index: 2015 Consumer Survey,\u00a8<\/a> an overview of consumer sentiments about telemedicine as revealed in a survey conducted jointly with Harris Poll in December 2014.<\/p>\n

The survey reveals a number of areas in which health consumers would prefer to interact with medical professionals via telemedicine as opposed to an in-person visit to the doctor\u2019s office. Some of these include:<\/p>\n