What is telehealth? In short, it is another technological advance that emerged with the purpose of offering more convenience to both physicians and patients. Boosted by the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, this type of service is increasingly on the rise.
When used wisely, telehealth can become a very valuable resource, as it makes it possible to reach more clients, delivering a quality service. If you want to know how telehealth works and what its advantages are, keep reading!
Telehealth is a trend in telemedicine. It is an application that allows the exchange of information between the doctor (and other health professionals) and the patient by video calls.
Thus, this service has multiple functions such as basic clinical appointment, checking test results, providing accurate diagnoses, transferring knowledge between specialists, and prescribing medications.
Through Telehealth, a patient can make an appointment with a physician without having to go to a clinic or hospital. This possibility allows obtaining medical care, in real time or asynchronously, in situations where this would be difficult.
This kind of remote care service can be classified into two types, each one with its characteristics and benefits. To learn more about them, check out below!
Synchronous telehealth is defined as a service in which the physician sees the patient in real time. In this situation, the appointment has to be scheduled and the client can quickly access the diagnosis, so that they can ask questions and receive answers immediately.
It is the procedure that is most similar to the already known face-to-face appointments. It can be done by videoconferences, voice calls and message exchanges, although this last option is not considered very efficient.
On the other hand, asynchronous telehealth is characterized by the fact that the service is not provided live. The hospital or clinic sends questionnaires and forms to the patient, who sends them back to the physician. This procedure is indicated for non-urgent cases – those that do not need direct interaction between the professional and the client.
This new form of care is a technological innovation that is changing the traditional way healthcare professionals and patients meet. Although some experts are wary of these transformations, it is important to know and keep up to date about them. Check out some advantages of implementing telehealth:
By reducing the distance between healthcare specialists and patients, this form of remote service allows providing care to more people, so as to increase the potential practice of the professionals involved. Therefore, knowing about telehealth is essential for the smooth running of the businesses.
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