Telemedicine: How does it impact patient care?
Introduction

The modern health care system is better and considerably more complex than what the situation previously was a decade and several decades ago. According to various researchers, the modern health care system is a managed one, and it widely uses technology in contrast to previous health care systems (Conklin, 2002). The many uses of technology in the modern health care system include the use of technology for diagnosis, for minimally invasive treatments, and better monitoring of vital signs and other signs. Moreover, technology is now also being used to consult with medical experts from all over the world remotely. This has led to improved healthcare and has enhanced patent experience.

Furthermore, many mobile applications have been invented to help both patients and doctors specifically. Moreover, they are not only helping patients recover but also improving their quality of life (Tiago et al., 2016). This paper investigates how a special technology, Telemedicine, affects patient care. The investigation will primarily be through reviewing a journal article titled Telemedicine Follow-up After Bariatric Surgery.

Background

For over thirty years, health services researchers, clinicians, and other medical experts have been studying how computers and other advanced telecommunication technologies have been used to enhance health care. One of the most important technologies in health care since early in the 20th century has been Telemedicine. Telemedicine is a combination of technologies that enables the delivery of health care in unique situations. More accurately, Telemedicine is defined as the utilization of communication technologies and electronic information to deliver or support health care in situations where there is a separation between the participants (Conklin, 2002; Tiago et al., 2016). In other words, Telemedicine connects health care providers with patients in cases where there is a distance between them. In addition to being a way in which health care is delivered, Telemedicine is also a way in which medical experts can share knowledge and experience without having to meet each other. While Telemedicine may sound like a very modern concept or phenomenon, it is not. As mentioned, it has been around since the early 20th century. However, it is over the last couple of years that it has been growing exponentially and getting more integrated into the delivery of health care.

In the year 1906, the person who invented the electrocardiogram wrote an article on a telecardiogram. More practically, since the late 1920s, many medical experts and specialists have been utilizing the radio to give medical advice. The state of Alaska was perhaps the very first state to actively use Telemedicine in its health care. This is because the state is massive and has people in many villages far away from cities and towns where they can get help directly from experts. Most villages are served by community health workers. The workers go directly to people in far off communities and talk to them and then perform audiometry and otoscopy. After doing this, they send the information to medical specialists in Fairbanks or Anchorage. The medical specialists then use the information given to them to make a decision on whether there is a need for a person with negative test results to go to them or to see another specialist In-person. As mentioned, the above was one of how Telemedicine was done initially. Nowadays, Telemedicine is much more advanced. There are high-technology televisions through which medical experts and specialists are engaging with other experts and specialists.

Moreover, there are peripheral devices that help with communication of sound and with the examination of patients. All these things have made Telemedicine much more integral to modern health care (Board on Health Care Services, 2012). However, many communication technologies are being used across the world for Telemedicine. While this is not in itself bad or wrong, experts are saying that the devices or technologies that are used in such situations need to be standardized to improve Telemedicine and make it more acceptable.

Store and forward technologies have greatly improved over the past couple of years. Their use has also increased in health care delivery. For instance, in optometry and ophthalmology, more health care experts are utilizing technologies such as non-mydriatic cameras to perform retinal screenings without needing people with diabetes to dilate their eyes. This has increased the screening rate. Teledentistry has also been around for ages and has been utilized by dental hygienists and dentists to deliver better oral healthcare. Perhaps the biggest areas in health care for Telemedicine are psychology and dermatology. From the early 90s, multiple reports have revealed that diagnoses made through teledermatology have a high percentage of agreement with those made by specialists In-person. Other reports and studies have shown that patients treated via teledermatology are very satisfied with their treatment. Nevertheless, many skin specialists are not very excited about the increasing prominence of technology in their area of practice since they feel as if they might be rendered useless (Board on Health Care Services, 2012).

Moreover, reports and studies also show that mental health diagnoses made using telehealth technologies are very much in agreement with those made by experts in-person. They also show that those treated using telehealth technologies are very satisfied with their treatment. It is expected that telemedicine equipment will become better with time and that this will make Telemedicine even more prominent in the delivery of healthcare.

In-person care has several opportunities as well as challenges as Telemedicine becomes more prominent. There is a need to discuss both and see how both in-person care and Telemedicine care can be used concurrently to deliver quality care to people everywhere. There is also a need to look at how telehealth models and approaches can be streamlined to make them easier to adapt across the country and across the planet. Also, there is a need to determine evidence-based standards for care and to make sure that people tasked with delivering Telemedicine, especially to remote and rural communities, are empowered to do just that.

Relevant laws and regulations

Healthcare is...…et al. (2018), Telemedicine is even more useful in helping post-operative patients. This is because they can be followed up on wherever they are conveniently and at a lower cost through the use of the technology. Many HIPAA-compliant telemedicine software solutions are being developed and distributed to the market. Hopefully, more of them will be developed, and they will be even easier to use to help patients get the help, convenience, and privacy they need (Burch et al., 2017).

Impact on patient care

The most important effect of Telemedicine is that it has significantly improved patient care. This is because it is very patient-centered. It is very patient-centered in the sense that it gives patients convenience, the quality care they need, quick assessment of their issues, timely diagnosis of critical situations or conditions, fewer expenses, and vastly better outcomes. It is what patients have been needing for a long time. According to Burch et al. (2017), patients monitored via Telemedicine are significantly less likely to be readmitted over 30 days and over 90 days. So Telemedicine as considerably improved patient care.

As mentioned earlier, Telemedicine was first developed to help rural patients or patients in remote towns (Lahr et al., 2019). Most rural towns or areas even in the United States, do not have enough medical specialists. However, through Telemedicine, even patients in remote or rural towns can access basic and specialized medical care.

Lastly, Telemedicine makes patients more engaged in their healing and treatment process. This is because the available telemedicine software solutions have reminders, information, and so on to help patients achieve successful outcomes after surgery or any other intervention. Telemedicine also increases engagement in the sense that the available computer applications also help patients to follow their care schedules and appointments carefully (Chen, 2020). Furthermore, patients who use Telemedicine are more likely to follow through on what they are advised because the information they get is usually concise and to the point.

Conclusion

Research reveals that Telemedicine can be very effective. Telemedicine technology is not a substitute for in-person care. It is a substitute for the traditional face to face patient encounter. It is a better substitute or alternative because it eliminates distractions, it is convenient, it is cheaper, and it makes it easier to access specialists. In short, it makes it more pleasant for patients to interact with their care providers. Telemedicine also enables people in rural or remote areas to access specialized care. Through Telemedicine, post-operative care patients can also receive the help they need conveniently and achieve better outcomes. Telemedicine can help RNs and doctors to follow up on their patients more closely. It can also help providers to provide their patients with holistic care as it makes it easier to access them and to follow up on them. Lastly, in light of the recent coronavirus outbreak, Telemedicine has become even more important as it reduces the risk of being infected in the disease in the hospital or on the way to a clinical appointment.…