Routinely, Veterans have been making regular visits to their doctors either for yearly exams, follow-up visits, treatment of chronic illnesses, getting test results, or trips to the urgent care for sudden illnesses or injuries. Even though Veterans being able to go to the doctor by themselves has been seen as a beneficial thing, it turns out that telehealth could be exponentially better. Allowing our Veterans the ability to connect with their VA care team from their home, clinic or hospital provides additional benefits that were only dreamt of.
1. Quality of life
Allowing Veterans the ability to visit their doctor from the comfort of their own home is a highly beneficial thing for any individual. Whether they want to save money on gas, don’t have a mode of transportation, or have a lot of medical equipment needed to travel with them, having the ability to communicate with their doctors from home creates more solutions than thought possible. Those that have argued the trip to see their doctor simply for test results was a waste of time, money, and gas.
2. Safety
As most of our Veterans are aging, their needs increase for supported transportation. Some individuals may have to have another person drive them, or they need to use the city bus; however, not every Veteran has these alternative modes of transportation. If their vision is failing, but no one has the ability to drive with them to the appointment, that individual may have to drive. This causes a clear safety issue not only for the Veteran but for the other people on the roads.
3. Comfort and Privacy
It is commonly seen as embarrassing to go see your doctor when you have a mental health illness suddenly strike. Being able to see your doctor for any mental health illnesses from your home provides the protection and seclusion that many people are needing when they have issues arise. Not only this, but it will make patients experiencing severe psychotic episodes the ability to see a provider immediately instead of having to travel somewhere and wait in the reception hall. Not only this, but Veterans have access to real-time, interactive video visits with therapists.
As you can clearly see, telehealth has provided Veterans phenomenal opportunities to receive the same quality of care they have now in their own home. This it allows for the ability for Veterans to join more group visits for mental health care, nutrition education, rehabilitation, and general health education. This allows more people the option to reduce potential social isolation.
For more information visit Ourdoctor.com to sign up and schedule your first telehealth visit.