Telehealth

What Is Telehealth?

Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic communication technologies, allowing long-distance patient and clinician contact for care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admissions. It’s like having a virtual doctor’s office right in your living room!

Breaking Down Telehealth

Telehealth bridges gaps in access to care due to rural settings, mobility issues, or pandemics, providing distance-learning; meetings, supervision, and presentations between practitioners; online information and health data management. It’s like having a bridge that connects you to the best medical professionals, no matter where you are.

Telehealth vs. Telemedicine

The Health Resources and Services Administration distinguishes telehealth from telemedicine, defining the former as preventative, promotive, and curative care delivery, while the latter only describes remote clinical services such as diagnosis and monitoring. It’s like saying telehealth is a broad umbrella that includes telemedicine under it.

The Technology Behind Telehealth

Telehealth requires good Internet access and broadband communication technology. Methods of telehealth include live video, store-and-forward, remote patient monitoring, and mobile health. Store-and-forward telemedicine involves acquiring medical data and transmitting it to a doctor for assessment offline. Remote monitoring enables medical professionals to monitor patients remotely using technological devices.

Videoconferencing in Healthcare

Videotelephony allows real-time communication between people at different locations through the reception and transmission of audio-video signals. It is particularly useful for individuals who are deaf or speech-impaired, those with mobility issues, and those located in distant places requiring telemedical or tele-educational services.

Categories of Videoconferencing Used in Healthcare

There are several categories of videoconferencing used in healthcare:

• Emergency Care: Telemedicine is used to provide emergency medical services, including SAMU Regulator Physicians in France, Spain, Chile, and Brazil.
• Telenursing: The use of telecommunications and information technology to provide nursing services remotely, achieving significant growth rates due to cost reduction and increasing demand for healthcare services in rural areas.
• Telepalliative Care: An interdisciplinary medical approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among patients with serious illnesses, using telecommunication technologies such as video conferencing and digital symptom assessments.

Challenges in Telehealth Use in Palliative Care

Challenging aspects of telehealth use in palliative care include:

• Inflexible reporting of complex symptoms
• Limited inclusion of existential or spiritual concerns
• Healthcare professionals’ discomfort providing emotional care remotely
• Focus on high-touch over high-tech interventions

Other Telehealth Services

Teleneurology utilizes mobile technology to provide neurological care remotely, improving healthcare access worldwide. White, well-educated, and technologically savvy people are the biggest consumers of telehealth services for Parkinson’s disease compared to ethnic minorities in the US.

Telepharmacy

Teleneurosurgery has gained popularity for remote ICU rounding, acute ischemic stroke evaluation, and IV alteplase administration, with a rapid surge in its use during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also being used for new patient consultations and follow-up visits regardless of surgery status.

Telehealth Research and Funding

In the United States, key federal funders of research include NIDRR, Veterans Health Administration, and Department of Defense. Other countries conducting excellent research include Australia and Europe. Despite some health insurers covering telerehabilitation services, many more need to be convinced that teleassessments and teletherapy are equivalent to clinical encounters.

Telehealth in India

In India, the Indian Association of Chartered Physiotherapists provides telerehabilitation facilities with online appointment booking capabilities. Telemedicine can improve trauma care efficiency by facilitating remote trauma triage, ICU rounds, trauma education, and consulting in the operating room.

Telehealth Services Beyond Medicine

Teleradiology is the transmission of radiographic images from one location to another using three essential components: image sending station, transmission network, and receiving-image review station. The most typical implementation of teleradiology involves two computers connected via the Internet.

Telepathology

The term ‘telepathology’ was coined by Ronald S. Weinstein in 1986. Teledermatology allows dermatology consultations over a distance using audio, visual, and data communication to improve efficiency, access, and patient satisfaction.

Teleophthalmology

Teleradiology accounts for at least 50% of all telemedicine usage. Telepathology is the practice of pathology at a distance using telecommunications technology for diagnosis, education, and research. Teledermatology delivers eye care through digital medical equipment and telecommunications technology.

Remote Surgery (Telesurgery)

Teleabortion uses telemedicine to increase access to abortion care in environments where few providers exist or abortion is legally restricted. Clinicians provide counseling, review screening tests, and administer abortion medication through online communication.

The Future of Telehealth

Teladoc filed suit against the Texas Medical Board over a rule that required in-person consultations initially, and a judge refused to dismiss the case. Telehealth is becoming increasingly mainstream, with organizations introducing legislation and guidelines for its use.

Barriers and Benefits

Telehealth allows multiple disciplines to merge and deliver care using technology, challenging traditional healthcare delivery and improving quality, access, and personalized health care for some populations. Telehealth can increase health promotion efforts by providing personalized support and extending professionals’ reach into patients’ homes or private environments.

Global Impact of Telehealth

The Australian hands-free breastfeeding Google Glass application reported promising results in 2014, increasing confidence among new mothers in breastfeeding. Scientific reviews indicate that outcomes of telemedicine are comparable to in-person care, with advantages including reduced infection risks, increased access to care, and improved recovery.

Conclusion

Telehealth is transforming the way we receive medical care, making it more accessible and efficient. As technology continues to advance, so too will telehealth, bridging gaps in healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes worldwide. The future of telehealth looks bright, with continued innovation and expansion into new areas of medicine.