Telehealth services use digital information and communication to manage health care efficiently and remotely. In a world where people become dependent on technology, bringing healthcare services online is a huge step. This brings improvement to the professionals and other healthcare providers in terms of mobility, productivity, and accessibility.
The rise of telehealth services has been very helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic where people are prohibited to go outside of their home premises. Through e-health services, people were still able to get consulted even in the comfort of their own homes. Apart from this, telehealth consult has now become an avenue for people to catch updates on their current health condition without bustling from the heavy traffic and consuming more time traveling.
There are different ways in which telehealth works. Your clinic may have an online portal for its patients. This online portal lets you ask for prescriptions, talk to a nurse, review test results and summaries, and schedule visits or appointments for preventive care. This offers a safer way of communication than email. There are also various health applications where you can secure health information in one secure place. These applications help schedule reminders for taking medicines and record vital signs and physical activities.
Telehealth has proven its helpfulness and effectiveness in the medical industry. Yet, there are still limitations that arise. Challenges pertaining to specialty, especially physical-oriented specialties, are one of the apparent limitations in telehealth services. Medical professionals are not able to do physical assessments, and many starts to dos elf-medication which affects a diagnosis. However, on-screen assessment and exercise instruction has been proven doable through telehealth services or physical teletherapy in this regard.
Normally, physical therapy requires touching, stretching, and manipulating someone’s joints and muscles. All these were impossible during the coronavirus pandemic, yet physical therapy is helping COVID-19 patients heal, gain back their strength, and improve their ability to move freely again. With the help of telehealth services, PTs were able to reach out and provide exercise instructions to people recovering from COVID-19 and other illnesses.
When doing a virtual session with physical therapists, here are the things that you need to
prepare:
- A good internet connection
- Enough space to help your physical therapist see how your body moves
- Good lighting
- Someone to assist you if applicable or needed
Telehealth is a great adjunct for the future. It continuously improves and caters more medical services to the people, even the ones that tend to require physical assessments or evaluation. It allows medical professionals to realize the importance of patient outcomes and treating patients. This has offered a lot of positive effects in delivering medical support to people far and wide. It minimizes the risk that patients may encounter from traveling far, reduces the cost, and increases the accessibility of the service to people in need of medical assistance.
