Emerging method of healthcare – Telemedicene

There seems to be a strong feeling amongst people in the field of medicine that we are at the beginning of a new change in which telemedicine, broadly defined, will become an essential part of mainstream healthcare. This will ensure that patients will be able to receive the appropriate care, at the appropriate site, by the appropriate provider at the appropriate time – all this will be done avoiding duplication and reducing waste. Thus Telemedicine is expected to move to the forefront of medical efforts for any improvements to be made in care efficiency and quality. It is a common thought shared by experts in the field of healthcare that telemedicine now should be considered an integral part of the system and used in conjunction with other information technologies like electronic and personal health records to derive its maximum benefits. Thus every new healthcare program or initiative has to be approached with a telemedicine angle in mind. As more people understand the value technology brings to virtual health efforts, the use of telemedicine will become more widespread.

The things mentioned above may sound very logical and something which should be done without wasting time for the obvious benefits that it stands to offer. However, there are quite a number of impediments to be faced. For instance, quite contrary to the belief that this approach is a new one, this field has been around for almost 50 years now. One of the major reasons for its slow progress has been the right amount of push which has been missing from the government for most of the part of the last two decades now. There is a complete lack of a roadmap or a strategic plan. This is because the industry has no assigned governing bodies overlooking its operations and roll out like the ones supporting electronic health records. The Meaningful Use development incentives do not include Telemedicine under its fold even in its third and last stage. Although there are bodies which have openly claimed to promote wider adoption of telemedicine to expand care to remote areas, improve care and cut costs, there has not been a solution figured out to handle the reimbursement part of the puzzle. Researchers conducted had predicted close to 2 million patients worldwide standing to gain by 2017 by the adoption of telehealth. At the same time independent experiments conducted have shown this approach not to make any significant difference in treating patients suffering from chronic conditions. Also, the treatment part put aside, there have not been significant improvements in their reported quality of life or anxiety or depression symptoms.

Inspite of the fact that there are some issues which are yet to be addressed in this approach, there is a widespread belief that Telemedicine is one of those new ideas whose time has come. There might be loopholes which are identifiable, but there is enough scope for them to be plugged. Telehealth is going to thrive because there are perennial issues which it addresses like the rise in the care costs, shortage of good quality providers and the ever increasing demand for care. Going by the recent news available telehealth is becoming more of a priority for several states across the United States of America. Infact a Bill has been introduced which plans to expand reimbursement for telehealth services in federal programs. A standard is also to be created for medical software development licensure in telehealth. This will be done to ensure that no medical benefit is excluded solely because it is furnished via a telecommunications system. It is also to allows insurance companies to reimburse physicians who consult with rural doctors using telemedicine.

Like with all new approaches there are areas which need attention and problems which need addressing in order to derive the best benefits out of the system. But that the widespread use of telehealth and telemedicine will bring about a major change in the field of healthcare and medicine – making it affordable and convenient besides bringing about tremendous improvements in reach in the remotest of locations. The federal and state governments on their part should now do everything in their capacity to help the sector draw the fullest benefit out of this approach and change its stance of becoming a roadblock in its progress which it has to a large extent till now.

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