Coronavirus, also COVID-19 (the respiratory diseases caused by the virus), has been threatening to be a global pandemic and already claimed an estimated 5,000 lives. With new reports of the illness surfacing in different places, many operations have come to a halt, including the suspension of public gatherings. As researchers search for a functional vaccine and treatment for affected patients, congress has been voting on funding Medicare waivers for telemedicine and telehealth services.

The HIMSS (Health Information and Management System Society) canceled their Florida conference last week as a precaution to avoid contracting the deadly virus. In this wake, telehealth lobbyists have spotted the opportunity to push its adoption, citing evidence from the epidemic as a sufficient sample of the value of telemedicine. Telemedicine has emerged as the most effective approach to avoid contact with coronavirus.

New Message for Patients

If you fear that you are infected with the coronavirus, doctors and nurses have a new message. Use the phone first. More doctors involved with coronavirus are steering patients, with mild to severe flu symptoms, towards non-contact telemedicine healthcare. This includes visits conducted via telephone, secure messaging or interactive videos, and web conferencing. The same healthcare system is deployed for providing care remotely to those infected or suspected to have COVID-19.

Telemedicine isn’t novel as it has long been used to expedite care during flu seasons. It allows caregivers to provide instructions and valuable information to affected patients remotely. This form of medical care also allows the doctor to monitor and track the progress of their patients. Besides ruling out contact with the virus, telemedicine reduces long queues at the facility and provides instant help through remote communication technologies.

But How Effective Is Telemedicine in Virus Management?

According to experts, COVID-19 is similar to influenza in its airborne transmission and symptoms manifestation. As such, the same methodologies are used when evaluating patients suspected to be infected. However, there are several challenges telemedicine faces, especially when it comes to organizing actual on-site treatment for patients in severe stages.

As people’s lives become increasingly busier, it is becoming more and more difficult to make time for any extra activities, let alone appointments. Some people are so busy that they can’t even afford to become sick, either because they would quickly become behind at work, or because they can’t afford to miss any money. Fortunately, telemedicine is becoming more widely available, and is a good option for people who are unable to see a doctor in person for whatever reason.

What is telemedicine and how does it work?

Telemedicine is a simple but very useful concept. It involves connecting patients with their medical professionals via a computer for teleconferencing. This would totally replace an in-person visit, and it can be useful in the following situations:

  • In situations when a person is located very far away from the doctor’s office. Telemedicine would make it possible for anyone in the world to consult with any physician, regardless of location.

  • It would make it unnecessary for busy professionals to take time off work for a doctor’s appointment, because they could see the doctor during a break at work.

  • Some patients may be physically unable to travel to a doctor’s office, either due to handicap or some other chronic condition.

Telemedicine is becoming more and more popular for a reason. Many patients are unable to consult with certain doctors who may be experts in specific fields. Telemedicine makes it easy and convenient for both the doctor as well as the patient.

For people that believe that adequate diagnosis and treatment can’t be performed using telemedicine, they are totally wrong. A doctor who specialized in working with children with infectious diseases had one patient who was truly unbelievable. The patient, a young child with HIV, was unable to travel to the doctor’s location because it was in another country, and the child’s HIV made her very chronically ill. The patient, who was not expected to live long, was able to consult with the physical through the telemedicine services. Not only was the treatment that the doctor provided effective, but it was so incredibly effective that the child, who wasn’t expected to live long, is now a relatively healthy adult who is thriving as a result of this doctor’s life-saving treatment.

Obviously telemedicine is a viable way in which to obtain medical treatment in cases where a person is unable to travel to see a doctor, either due to being elderly, disabled, chronically ill, and even people who are healthy a majority of the time but are simply too busy to take time off work to see a doctor.