Tag Archives: healthcare services

5 Ways Telemedicine Helps You Take Control Of Your Care

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  1. You Are More Of a Valued Customer Than A Patient

Telemedicine breaks down traditional “doctor/patient” barriers by viewing the procurer less as a number and more as an essential client who is entitled to satisfaction. For example, DocChat’s customer-centric approach places utmost importance on the client’s experience, the patient always comes first. Customer satisfaction at all costs beats walking away from a disappointing or rushed clinic appointment feeling shortchanged.

  1. Care When And Where You Choose

Instead of waiting for appointments, and waiting around clinics, you get to decide the time and place of your care. This helps you take the reins as opposed to just being a passenger waiting on a doctor’s convenience. If you want to set up an appointment at work on your lunch break, nothing is stopping you. Telemedicine services give you complete control over the circumstances surrounding your care.

  1. More Accessible Continuum of Care

Telemedicine makes it much easier to follow up with your doctor than having to attempt to book a whole other appointment shortly after (which often isn’t possible for weeks). You can follow up with your telemedicine doctor with the click of a button via instant chat message or video conference. This enables everyone, especially those with chronic conditions that need managing, to take better control over their continuing healthcare.

  1. Your Time Is Your Own

Scheduling, waiting for and arranging necessary accommodations such as travel or childcare before a doctor’s appointment can all be very time consuming. Waiting an hour in a clinic or several in the ER for concerns that can be handled via telemedicine can be big a waste of your time. Since up to 78% of medical concerns can be dealt with through telemedicine, it seems the option that will enable you to take better control over your healthcare and valuable time is obvious.

  1. Telemedicine Services Answer To You

Quality control is often very high with telemedicine companies because they want you to return as a customer. A good telemedicine provider will always treat you competitively well to keep you whereas if you go to the ER, they don’t want you to return, so you are just treated and sent on your way (happy or not) to make room for the next group of people filing in. You can usually bank on satisfaction with telemedicine videoconferences. DocChat doctors for example are extensively vetted and trained to ensure a companywide standard of excellence. Some companies don’t have as strict standards with their doctors, so it is best to do your research first to make sure a company is intensive about qualifications and training before entrusting them with your care.

Sign up to DocChat today to take better control of your care.

Telemedicine for Asthma And Allergy Care

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Spring brings plenty of seasonal irritants along with it, so we thought it was an opportune time to examine the benefits of telemedicine as an option for continued allergy and asthma healthcare. Telemedicine can be a beneficial means of care for many other chronic illnesses such as arthritis, skin conditions, diabetes or stroke aftercare, so why not asthma and allergies? Studies already show that telemedicine is making major strides in asthma day-to-day care and maintenance.

Technology Aided Monitoring

Our modern world brandishes advanced technology including sharper images, HD screens and crisp audio. These attributes make it easy to diagnose and monitor chronic conditions such as allergies via telemedicine. If a person suffers from worsening hives, they can send photos of the different stages, as well as show a telemedicine doctor via teleconference the condition of their skin. A telemedicine doctor can also clearly see swelling, rashes and bloodshot or irritated eyes. When it comes to asthmatics, the doctor will be able to hear any wheezing or breathing changes that may be present, making it easy to assess the state of a patient’s condition. He or she will also be able to see potential physical characteristics such as blue/purple lips or nails, or pale skin and under-eye bags which may be indicative of inadequate sleep due to an asthma flare-up.

Get Prescriptions Filled Or Changed

Based on the doctor’s assessment of the progression of the patient’s allergies or asthma, the doctor can alter antihistamine levels or brands, change up puffers, or prescribe corticosteroids if need be. Doctors can send the prescriptions straight to the patient’s pharmacy and arrange for them to be home delivered.

Continued Medical Advice

Sometimes, especially with asthma, patients simply need general advice, or reassurance on the status of their condition. If a patient is having trouble sleeping or feels like they may be breathing extra shallow, a telemedicine consult can help determine whether the patient should be concerned and seek primary or emergency treatment soon, or if they are okay and should just up their puffers and try to relax. This is a helpful resource as the person likely doesn’t want to waste hours in an emergency room or try to get a doctor’s appointment just to be told they simply need to temporarily up their puffers, especially since clinic environments are dangerous for an asthmatic’s weakened immune system. In this way, telemedicine doctors can act as convenience triage for asthmatics.

Convenience During Pollen Season

This method of healthcare can be extremely convenient during hay fever months if the person has a bad allergy to pollen, or if their asthma flares up because of it. Those who are hypersensitive to pollen will want to spend as much time inside as possible so as not to worsen their condition. Being able to check in with a doctor without having to head out into a threatening cloud of pollen and wait in a germy clinic when their resistance is already down would be a big plus for hay fever sufferers or asthmatics during this time of year.

Feel free to call, email or visit DocChat‘s website to set up a video consultation with one of our highly skilled physicians about your allergies or asthma today. Thanks for visiting, hope to see you soon!

 

 

The Convenience Of Telemedicine For Particular Groups

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While telemedicine is a convenient and accessible means of treatment for everyone, it provides a little extra help for certain demographics who have trouble with conventional doctor’s appointments such as the mobility impaired, sick, elderly, immunocompromised or busy families.

Telemedicine For Disabled Patients

It goes without saying that if someone is mobility impaired, it would be so much safer and easier for them to receive treatment without having to arrange transport or undergo the difficult process of getting ready and venturing out just for a prescription or medical advice they could receive from home. Telemedicine enables people in wheelchairs, with canes or with other mobility issues to access most of their care from the comfort and safety of their homes. DocChat can even fax prescriptions and arrange to have them delivered directly to the patient’s home.

Telemedicine For The Elderly

Each year over one third of elderly Americans will suffer a fall. Many of those falls take place outdoors in the winter. Over 2,000,000 of these folks end up needing emergency treatment for subsequent injuries. During the winter months especially, using telemedicine would be safer for elderly people who may also be mobilitiy impaired, instead of heading out on the ice and risking a fall, or exposure to harmful germs in a hospital or doctor’s office setting.

Telemedicine For The Immunocompromised

Over 1,200,000 people contract healthcare-related infections each year in United States hospitals. The numbers on how many people contract infections from waiting in doctor’s offices are unclear, but it is safe to say it definitely happens. This is a risk for anyone, let alone someone who has a chronic condition such as AIDS, severe COPD or cancer and has little immunity against such potential infections. When possible, staying home is always a safer option for immunocompromised people, especially during a flare-up when they are even more vulnerable.

Telemedicine For Busy Parents

There are many reasons for busy parents not to want to cart their young kids around town for health matters that could be handled via telemedicine. Some of these include:

  1. Small children have less built up immunity to many colds, flus and infections
  2. It is difficult to keep children’s hands away from their faces in dirty clinic settings
  3. It has hectic to try to get children dressed, ready and keep them preoccupied while waiting in crowded clinics
  4. Busy parents usually have a million things to do and can’t take a whole day off for an appointment when there are other options.

Telemedicine For Everyone!

So maybe you don’t have a compromising chronic illness, disability, or child to protect – maybe you just want to receive high quality medical care from the comfort of your home. Well you’re in luck, as DocChat does not discriminate on delivery of care based on location, condition, financial standing or any other way. We aim to deliver top-quality, cost efficient care to anyone and everyone who desires or requires it!

 

Everyday Uses Of Telemedicine

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When you think of telemedicine what do you think of? You may conjure images of high-tech hospital machines transmitting information from one healthcare setting to the next, or maybe you picture a telehealth e-consultation? Well, telemedicine is more accessible and extends farther into your daily life than you may think.

Personal Medical Inquiries

If you’ve ever called (or emailed) your doctor to inquire about blood test results, or spoke to a specialist on the phone who is hours away, you have used telemedicine on those occasions. Have you ever called your pharmacist to ask questions about a prescription? Yep, you guessed it! Telemedicine.

Computer Telemedicine Support

People use telemedicine online daily, sometimes without even realizing that is what they are doing. Some examples of day-to-day computer activities that fall under the umbrella of telehealth are:

  • Online support groups – have you ever contacted an online mental health or physical health support group? There are thousands of groups out there that aim to help people communally manage such conditions such arthritis or obsessive compulsive disorder.
  • Symptom checker – most of us have, at one point or another, checked a couple maladies on a symptom checker or typed symptoms into the search engine out of curiosity. While this isn’t a good substitute for a doctor’s advice, it can give people some helpful information on conditions as long as they access credible sources.
  • Health forums – many people participate in online health forums to inquire or learn about certain health-related abnormalities or concerns, once again this should not be substituted for medical advice but it is still a form of telehealth and may give you some good suggestions about what to ask your doctor.

Doctor-to-Doctor Communication

Another common form of telemedicine is advice, second opinions or general medicine-related communication between doctors from hospital to hospital, or from a facility to a hospital via phone or email. Similarly, if your doctor calls your specialist to gather information about your latest appointment or calls the pharmacy directly to give instructions on one of your medicines, telemedicine was happening all over that office.

Smartphone Telemedicine

Possibly the most widespread and frequent use of telemedicine in daily life is done on smartphones. People access millions of health and wellness apps daily such as weight loss and calorie counter, exercise, and health input apps daily. You can use phones to make health inquiries, call doctors offices to schedule appointments or track things like blood sugar levels and heartrates. You can also use your smartphone to access DocChat’s revolutionary app which will connect you with a highly qualified DocChat physician within minutes for a telemedicine appointment.

 

 

Telestroke – Telemedicine for Stroke Aftercare

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Stroke Prevalence In The United States

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), strokes kill nearly 130 000 Americans annually. Each year upwards of 795 000 Americans suffer a stroke, leaving a large percentage of those people disabled, making stoke the leading cause of long-term disability countrywide. These numbers are staggering.

What Is Telestroke?

Telestroke is the use of telemedicine (digital communication to send medical information from one site to another) in stroke aftercare. It is used especially for hospitals in isolated communities with a lack of stroke resources to communicate with specialists and with hospitals that have more available means for stroke care. It is also used for stroke patients to be remotely monitored from their homes or nursing homes by a team of doctors.

How Telestroke Works For Hospital Settings

Unfortunately, vascular neurologists and other specialists with concentrations in stroke care aren’t readily available in many small, underfunded and rural (spoke) hospitals across the country, so what are these little hospitals to do when a patient comes in mid-stroke? They must have the means to communicate all crucial information to specialists in larger, more equipped (hub) hospitals to gain life-saving and damage-controlling advice for stroke victims. Luckily in our technologically advanced world doctors have the ability to transmit vitals and other diagnostic info and run videoconferences between the two sites so specialists can see the condition of the patient and witness the local doctor performing tests and exams, to further instruct him or her.

Necessary Components For Telestroke Care

The CDC recommends that the necessary technology be installed and updated regularly in spoke hospitals, and hub hospitals must have vascular neurologists on call 24/7 to be accessed for videoconferencing with smaller hospitals as soon as stroke victims are wheeled in. For telestroke to be successful, the CDC also suggests other key components such as a program leader to correlate communication, on-site visits between hub specialists and spoke sites when necessary, standardized protocol between the hub hospital and all spoke sites, and patient transfer agreements in case an emergency transportation is necessary.

Individual Telestroke Aftercare

Telemedicine can also come in handy for disabled stroke patients with the means for homecare to be monitored via vital machines and communication with doctors or specialists through telemedicine. This type of telestroke care can also apply to patients who’ve suffered strokes and live in nursing homes. The nursing homes could use DocChat as the liaison between the patient and neurologist. Our highly qualified physicians can also provide the patient with care, checkups and medication alterations when needed via teleconferences.

 

Telemedicine for Common and Chronic Condition Management

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eHealth or Online Healthcare

Telemedicine is Taking Off

Telemedicine is advancing at an impressive rate, and is expected to further skyrocket over the course of 2016. Foley and Lardner LLP says of the field, “Telemedicine is a key component in the health care industry shift to value-based care as a way to generate additional revenue, cut costs and enhance patient satisfaction.” Telemedicine could help cut down on exposure to germs while waiting around in a hospital or clinic to be seen, as well as eliminate wait and travel times. The convenience offered by telemedicine companies such as DocChat is another big plus, especially if you are busy, immobile or not feeling well enough to venture out.

Common Ailments Treated by Telemedicine

According to the AMA, 78% of doctor’s visits can be handled via telemedicine. Some of the many common non-emergency ailments telemedicine can treat include:

  • Colds and flus
  • Urinary tract and yeast infections
  • Fever
  • Stomach flus, diarrhea or constipation
  • Bronchial, upper respiratory and ear infections
  • Insect bites and unknown rashes
  • Sore or strep throat
  • Conjunctivitis and similar bacterial infections
  • Headaches
  • Temporary joint aches

Telemedicine as Part of Chronic Condition Management

Telemedicine is not only ideal for immediate infections and passing health concerns, but can also be an excellent resource for the management of many chronic diseases and conditions. Here at DocChat we follow up with patients after their appointments, and the same doctor can be seen again upon patient request. We can also correlate specialist appointments via video conferences for chronically ill patients who need rheumatology, dermatology, cardiology or other types of specialized advice about their conditions. Telemedicine can be an excellent resource for those who have debilitating conditions such as severe arthritis, and can’t easily make it to the doctor’s office.

Chronic Ailments That can be Managed by Telemedicine

A few of the many chronic illnesses and diseases that can be aided via telemedicine include:

  • Arthritis – telemedicine physicians can help advise patients on how to better manage their pain and inflammation, if they should adjust their medications or when it may be time to connect with a specialist
  • Asthma – this can be a scary illness which sometimes requires immediate advice at any hour of the day. DocChat physicians are available 24/7 to assist asthmatics in determining whether a hospital trip is necessary, or if their situation can be handled at home with certain medications
  • Allergies – telemedicine can help keep allergies under control by providing chronic and seasonal allergies sufferers with the recurrent advice they may need when it comes to adjusting antihistamines, changing nasal sprays or if it may be time to take Benadryl for a few days
  • Acne (and other chronic skin conditions) – acne can be a very uncomfortable and annoying condition which may require several maintenance appointments to find the right medications and check on progress. Telemedicine is the perfect platform for this, as doctors can see the patient’s face over the screen and can tell if the condition is worsening or controlled
  • IBS – telemedicine can help those suffering from chronic stomach conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome keep their symptoms under control by providing advice and medications as needed

Try it to Believe it

The above listed are just drops in the bucket of conditions that can be treated and maintained by telemedicine. Contrary to the belief that telemedicine is mainly for those who live in rural areas or are immobile, it can actually benefit anyone and everyone. Imagine if getting your condition treated was as easy as a few clicks of your mouse? Well it is. So signup to try DocChat today, and start on your convenient path to a healthier you.

Fast Facts About Telemedicine

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Here are some facts about the newly advancing telemedicine field that you may not know:

  • Over 78% of Doctor’s visits can be handled via telemedicine
  • Overcrowded U.S. emergency rooms see over 136 million visits annually
  • Only 11% of ER visits end in admission
  • Rural citizens have to travel an average of 60 miles to receive speciality care
  • Telemedicine can benefit the nearly 50 million Americans who live in highly remote rural areas without readily available healthcare
  • Urinary Tract Infections account for over 8 million doctor’s visits annually, and can be easily diagnosed and treated via telemedicine
  • Over half of U.S. hospitals utilize telemedicine
  • Telemedicine could deliver over $6 billion in healthcare savings to U.S. companies annually
  • 67% of healthcare professionals either use, or plan to use some form of telemedicine
  • The global telemedicine market is forecasted to reach $36 300 000 000 by 2020
  • According to the TRC, “Mortality rate dropped from 13.6% to 11.8% after tele-ICU was implemented, and length of stay in the ICU fell from 13.3 days of 9.8.”
  • In 2004 alone, prisons in California utilized 9 000 telemedicine videoconferences for prisoners, saving taxpayers $4 million
  • Tele-monitoring of chronic conditions reduces ER visits by 83%
  • Telemedicine companies such as DocChat can correlate specialist video consultations
  • The average wait-time for a doctor’s appointment in urban areas is 18.5 days
  • Over 17% of cell phone owners have used their phones to seek health advice

 

What Services are Covered by Telemedicine?

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Telemedicine uses information technologies and telecommunication to deliver clinical healthcare and assistance. For many patients, telemedicine solves the problem of distance and provides access to medical facilities and services that may not be available to them in their immediate area. This field uses email, two-way video calling, smart phones and many other forms of telecommunication technologies.

Nearly 40 years ago, hospitals started using telemedicine to provide extended, out-patient care to patients who would normally have difficulty travelling to the clinic or hospital. Once patients and medical practitioners witnessed the benefits, telemedicine spread rapidly across the globe and has now been integrated into the operations of many private physicians’ offices, hospitals, home health agencies, specialty departments, and also in patients’ homes and workplaces.

Services Provided by Telecommunication

Telecommunication is used extensively in many disciplines and human dependency on it has made it a vital component of our daily routines and activities. There are many services provided by telemedicine:

Patient Health and Medical Information

The Internet is a world of its own. You can find information about virtually everything. The Internet has become many patients’ first stop for information about what they’re feeling. Telemedicine can be helpful in helping patients decide if they need to seek further medical treatment. Telemedicine can also connect patients with similar diseases or difficulties in online discussions and forums.

Primary Care and Specialist Referral

Telemedicine has provided a way for primary care physicians to consult with specialists without leaving their office. This kind of communication usually happens via live interactive video and some programs even allow for collaborative viewing of diagnostic images, video clips and other patient data.

Education

The Internet allows for live or recorded medical seminars by specialists’ and professors to be aired around the globe and viewed and uploaded from anywhere.

Remote Patient Monitoring

This includes home telehealth, which allows remote diagnostic testing facilities or home health agencies to collect data such as blood glucose or ECG readings for evaluation. For some chronic illnesses, this real-time monitoring is a great advantage to proper maintenance of the condition.

3 Ways Telemedicine is Making Inroads Into Less Conventional Sectors

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The medical community has witnessed a big leap forward in telemedicine during the last couple of years. The credit for the telemedicine revolution goes to new technologies, such as hardware and software, cloud computing, video conferencing, and other technological breakthroughs. Also, thanks to the introduction of remote healthcare equipment, the once sluggish medical sector has now gone mainstream.

The telemedicine sector is currently witnessing a surge and it is increasingly being used to treat a wide range of health problems. It is bridging the gap between patients living in remote rural communities and medical service providers. Telemedicine is helping physicians to expand the scope of their services by enabling them to deliver services without making geographical movements.

Even though it is probable these technological breakthroughs will continue to fuel the growth and acceptance of telemedicine over the coming years, there are those less traditional sectors that can reap the benefits offered by telemedicine. Below are some examples to prove this.

1. Space Travel

Very few people are aware that NASA has been maintaining reasonably close ties with the progresses in telemedicine technologies and researches for tens of years. This implies that the space agency is all set to become the main beneficiary of future progresses in this arena. It is pertinent to note that researches in this area have gained even more importance today.

NASA’s interest in telemedicine is stimulated by its rising enthusiasm to support prolonged space missions. The agency requires telemedicine to support their space missions like the mission to Mars besides the provision of remote healthcare services to the international Space Station.

2. Sports

The lives of professional sportspersons is governed by two important factors: delivering extraordinary performance and travelling most of the time. These factors often create difficulties for them when it comes to receiving traditional healthcare services. This is where telemedicine is making inroads. Besides ensuring timely treatment of injured sportsmen, telemedicine can be used by the sports professionals to remotely and regularly consult with a healthcare specialist.

3. Disaster Situations

Disasters leave people displaced, which make them increasingly vulnerable to diseases. Remember, the United States has witnessed a series of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, tornadoes, and blizzards during the last decade. Disasters also cut people from healthcare services. It is worth mentioning here that when the 2009 Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, almost two million people were cut off from healthcare.

Telemedicine can bridge the gap between patients and physicians during disasters. Imagine telemedicine relief workers connecting displaced people with remotely stationed health practitioners. This means that telemedicine can play a great role in making certain that people get access to healthcare even during emergency situations.

To conclude, telemedicine holds a bright future in store for us. It is promising us a world where everyone benefits from high quality healthcare services no matter where we live, work, or what the situation. More and more experts are turning towards telemedicine, and you should too.

Telemedicine and Its Impact on Specialty Care

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Not only has telemedicine entirely changed and redefined medicine, it has also completely revolutionized medicine across all specialties. Specialists such as orthodontists, cardiothoracic surgeons, pediatricians and many others benefit from the use of telemedicine.

Telecommunication technologies such as two way video feed, smartphones, emails and many other applications that allow patients to access specialists in a particular field has made it extremely convenient for both doctors and patients. Not only does it boost ultimate convenience, telemedicine is also extremely cost effective.

Here are some ways that telemedicine has benefited the specialty care.

High Quality Treatment for Burn Patients

It is true that burn patients require physical presence of the doctor as they need to be resuscitated immediately. However, telemedicine can still be of immense help in such as case.

With the help of live video conferencing or emailing digital images of the burn injuries doctors can consult other specialists in the field and come up with a treatment procedure which can minimize the potential risks, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the treatment. This also reduces the need to transport burn patients from one hospital to another.

Furthermore, telemedicine is also convenient for patients as it allows follow-up appointment with their doctors without them having to make an unnecessary trip to the hospital. Thereby, saving the time of both, the specialist and the patient.

Numerous telemedicine programs have been introduced for burn patients who live in rural areas and do not have access to specialists. Thus, allowing them to connect with burn physicians, burn therapists, plastic surgery surgeons etc.

Access to Oncology Care for Rural Patients

Cancer requires diligent care and treatment because of the severe nature of the disease. However, many people from rural areas are particularly at risk of developing cancer compared to the ones in urban areas. Since they don’t have access to quality care and treatment, they are likely to go undiagnosed which makes them more vulnerable.

However, telemedicine programs for oncology have made it possible for people to get equitable care and treatment. Because of the distance and travel issue for rural patients, tele-oncology was introduced in 90s and has become quite mainstream today. Thereby, receding the barriers caused by geography. Televideo and various other telemedicine applications have made it possible for rural patients to seek treatment advice from oncologists. Once the patient agrees to the telemedicine treatment, the local nurse or physician is directed by the urban oncologist regarding the prognosis and treatment plan.

Telemedicine has indeed revolutionized the field of specialty care and is continuing to do so. Though there are multiple challenges like limited bandwidth, there is work going on to overcome them.