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Tag Archives: rural area telemedicine

31
Dec
Date December 31, 2021
Categories Telemedicine

How Online Health Care Is the Best Option For You During The Holidays

With the increasing accessibility to online health care, it is becoming increasingly easy for people to choose a different option from traditional healthcare providers. The shift towards online healthcare is also reducing the holiday fuss.

There are many benefits to choosing a digital practitioner over a traditional one.

Availability of Health Care in Remote Areas

If you’re going to be away from your home for this holiday season, make sure you have access to the internet. 

Patients can quickly get help with any medical problem they might be facing when visiting a doctor online. Even in a remote location, you can still contact your doctor by phone, text, or video chat.

Telemedicine services such as Ourdoctor allows users to talk to a healthcare professional from anywhere in the world.

Medical Help From Doctors During Travel

Telemedicine, the use of online services to provide healthcare needs, is an efficient way for people with seasonal illnesses or injuries to receive timely care.

Using online medical help is a good idea. A doctor can provide specialty care in your home via telemedicine reducing the need for physically visiting a doctors office.

Your doctor can give you advice when you are not physically in the office. You can consult with them via phone or text while remaining at home.

Prompt and Consistent Health Treatment

Telehealth provides the opportunity to interact with doctors and view images of conditions in real-time, which leads to better treatment outcomes for all involved.

Telemedicine is an innovation in healthcare offering access to medical services without taking up much time from your day.

You can get advice from a doctor on-demand using a telemedicine website such as Ourdoctor. Doctors can treat symptoms promptly and timely.

Online health care and medical services reduce reliance on traditional medical providers during the holidays.

Author securemedical
17
Sep
Date September 17, 2021
Categories Telemedicine

Providing Mental Health Services Using Telehealth Integration

A telemedicine platform may help make significant progress for millions of patients who require mental health or substance misuse treatment since only approximately 10% of federally certified health facilities have clinical psychologists or psychiatrists on staff.


Recent research that examined some rural FQHCs found that using a tele-mental health platform, which connects the clinics to experts, benefited patients with bipolar illness or post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to a press release issued by the University of Michigan, the study findings indicate that if you provide access to high-quality treatment for disadvantaged patients, they may improve their quality of life.


Researchers from several health systems and the Veterans Affairs conducted five-year research sponsored by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to see if remote treatment had the same value for psychiatric services in 24 rural FQHCs in Washington, Michigan, and Arkansas.


The research published in JAMA Psychiatry assessed two models of care: patients directly have face-to-face encounters with specialists at the state medical school through telemedicine, and the other in which a primary care clinic that works alongside FQHCs incorporates telehealth into its services. This data suggests that a large majority of the 1,004 patients treated discovered that they had far better access to healthcare, better mental health, and better quality of life. Both groups saw the same gains.


Although research shows that telehealth may benefit patients and FQHC patients, it is essential to consider the importance of a remote telehealth platform located inside an FQHC, which mainly serves the underprivileged population.


Medicare and Medicaid data claims about 1,400 FQHCs and comparable health clinics servicing about 25 million people in the US.


FQHCs use telehealth as a means of contact with their patient while also providing virtual access to the necessary services. Telehealth has benefited from federal and state emergency measures designed to increase access, coverage, and lawmakers in both the Senate and the House have shown an interest in further implementing such policies after the crisis.

Author securemedical
21
Jun
Date June 21, 2019
Categories Telemedicine

Understanding the Connection Between Telemedicine and Rural Area Internet Access

It is no secret that rural communities are struggling with a shortage of medical providers. With fewer specialists, hospitals, and general practitioners to provide healthcare to remote areas, patients may not be able to secure the level of care they need for both acute and chronic conditions.

One of the solutions to this healthcare crisis is rural area telemedicine, which allows doctors to monitor patients as well as consult with colleagues who may be some distance away. Unfortunately, telemedicine may not be the answer for every rural community, thanks to limited internet access and other factors that can prevent patients from receiving the medical care they desperately need.

Why It Matters

Think about why patients may not be able to receive adequate healthcare within their rural areas. Physician retention may be a problem, and what physicians are close by may be pushed to the limits, serving more patients than they may have time to treat.

That leaves some doctors on the verge of burnout and some patients with the choice of going great distances to seek out medical treatment, which in turn costs more for them and takes dollars out of their communities. Patients may have to take off work, or worse, forego preventive care or monitoring until their conditions worsen or become urgent.
Try OurDoctor to See a Physician by Phone for only $19.95

Lack of Infrastructure

While it would be wonderful if every area had the same level of broadband internet service, the reality is that many rural communities are underserved. Part of the issue is inadequate utilities as well as slow internet access.

If broadband providers determine that an area is not profitable, they may not invest in the infrastructure in that community, which in turn limits patients who rely on telemedicine for gaps in their healthcare.

The Issue of Bandwidth

Bandwidth, or the rate at which data can be transferred, can be another factor that impacts rural area telemedicine. Medical software programs and technology may require quite a bit of bandwidth, leading to a slowdown of internet access throughout the community.

Some technology companies recognize this limitation of telemedicine effectiveness and are working to develop new software that does not strain bandwidth or slow internet connections. Until these programs are widely available, however, the issue of speed and other barriers to connectivity may persist.

Seeing the Light

Fortunately, researchers and regulating agencies continue to study barriers to rural area telemedicine and find answers to overcome them. As more healthcare and insurance providers recognize the benefits and cost benefits of telemedicine, they may work together to address slow internet access and infrastructure inadequacies to make access to healthcare easier for rural communities. View our Urgent Care Telemedicine Services

Author securemedical