Over the last few years, the capabilities of telemedicine have grown tremendously. As technology advances quickly, so does telemedicine tech equipment, only facilitating its fast growth. Originally, telemedicine was a simple phone call or video chat where patients could receive medical advice, but today, telemedicine’s capabilities may surprise you.
Did you know that a survey from the American Medical Association revealed that 85 percent of doctors say they have treated or are currently using a telehealth service for patient care? The survey illustrated the migration of some patients' preferences from in-person visits to a more comfortable, convenient, at-home option.
Telehealth Advances
Nowadays, telehealth equipment can be sent to or purchased by patients which enhances doctors’ abilities to provide care for a wide range of ailments. Hardware scanners that can look inside the ears, nose, throat, and even lungs are now available for at-home use, with signals automatically transmitted to the physician.
Patients also have the ability to wear implants that can give them and their physicians constant updates on their health status. These devices are both wearable and virtual, and can send reminders to take medicine, detect certain illnesses, monitor people with disorders such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, and access past care records.
Telemedicine is more than just a virtual health visit, as patients and doctors are now able to share medical records and even perform internal medical exams from the comfort of their own offices. Besides new hardware like tablets and body scanners, telemedicine is also widely available on most technological platforms including phones and computers.
These platforms sometimes provide users with a virtual health dashboard where they can keep track of their medical records, appointments, medicine, and diagnoses. In case of emergency, these records can also be accessed in seconds from anywhere.
What Are the Benefits of Telehealth?
Convenience
Maybe the most compelling factor behind the rise in telemedicine’s popularity, telehealth allows patients to engage with doctors and nurses from the comfort of their own homes. Patients who use telehealth don’t have to drive, walk, or travel to the doctor’s office. They don’t have to sit in the waiting room or wait in check-in and check-out lines. For this reason, telehealth is sometimes also the fastest way to receive care.
Protect Others
If you’re sick, the last thing you want to do is spread your illness to others. One of the biggest advantages of telehealth, and the reason it really exploded in popularity during the pandemic, is because of telemedicine’s ability to protect other people. Patients with COVID-19, for example, could easily infect other patients while they wait in a physical waiting room at a doctor’s office. With telehealth, sick and contagious patients never have to leave their quarantine or risk getting anybody else sick.
Equal Access
For some, access to a medical clinic is either prohibitively expensive or not in their area. Some people have to travel significant distances to receive care, something that telehealth helps mitigate. Patients who are unable to make it to a medical facility or lack one in their area are able to reach a doctor via video chat, eliminating the barrier between underserved communities and quality care.
Cost Savings
Telehealth saves money for employers and for patients by reducing the need for in-person doctor visits, which can be costly in terms of time and travel expenses. It also lowers healthcare spending by facilitating early treatment and preventive care, preventing more expensive treatments later.
Telehealth reduces absenteeism and boosts productivity for employees, while patients benefit from reduced out-of-pocket costs, making healthcare more accessible and affordable.
What Can Kokomo24/7® Telehealth Do?
Kokomo24/7® brings decades of experience in both public and private sector health and safety. Our telehealth tool, which will soon be available to any organization as part of a corporate wellness program as well as educational institutions, aims at not only providing convenient care, but looks to improve educational learning environments and company culture by mitigating the inequalities in traditional healthcare access.
Along with any healthcare partner, our telehealth platform will allow users to:
- Gain access to doctors specializing in general medicine, orthopedics, and more
- Schedule appointments based on your availability
- Gain access to resources that are otherwise not available at your school, workplace, or in your community
- Gain access to mental wellness medical and non-medical professionals
- Conduct your appointment from anywhere you are
Get the health and safety platform you need to navigate complex and changing circumstances: the same software toolkit used by Fortune 1000 corporations and educational institutions like BMW and the University of Michigan.
Kokomo24/7® is a leader in compliance and risk management solutions for all things health and safety and was founded in 2018. Our mission is to deliver highly effective, easy-to-use, and trusted compliance and risk management solutions that bridge the gap between public safety and technology. We proudly serve schools, workplaces, and communities, by helping implement their health, safety, and wellness initiatives.
Whether you work for a small business, large corporation, or school, we want to hear from you. To learn more about Kokomo24/7® or to get a free 15-minute demo click the button below.
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