The Use of Medical Information Online and Current Barriers Facing Telehealth

The Use of Medical Information Online and Current Barriers Facing Telehealth

I recently researched the topic of telehealth and found some very interesting and new information that I did not previously have. So what is telehealth? Telehealth uses electronic information and different communication technologies to foster health care for patients from almost anywhere in the world. Before telehealth, healthcare providers would have to rely on methods of communicating slow health information. Sometimes, they did not make it to patients or other healthcare providers in time to provide the care each patient needed. Telehealth focuses not just on patients; it also involves training medical staff on specific new or enhanced training techniques that may benefit all involved healthcare providers. Another benefit telehealth brings to the healthcare community is administration analysis and meetings. Having teleconference meetings and conducting administrative and medical education from remote places around the world gives healthcare providers the ability to share vital medical information and be on the same page with counterparts on specific healthcare information, and this is a great way to build a better health care system for patients requiring needed healthcare and providers who require new and updated training. As we can now understand, telehealth is focused on patients’ health care and other services such as Medicare administration, training and communication.

There seems to be ongoing confusion about telemedicine and telehealth. We already know what telehealth is; now, let’s discuss what telemedicine is and how it differs from telehealth. Telemedicine uses technologies and telecommunication systems to administer healthcare to patients geographically separated from providers. For example, a radiologist may read and interpret the imaging results for a patient in a different county whose hospital does not currently have a radiologist on staff. Or a physician may conduct an urgent-care consultation via video for a non-life-threatening condition. Where telemedicine refers specifically to the practice of medicine via remote means, telehealth is a blanket term covering all components and activities of healthcare and the healthcare system conducted through telecommunications technology. Healthcare education, wearable devices that record and transmit vital signs, and provider-to-provider remote communication are examples of telehealth activities and applications that extend beyond remote clinical care (Healthit.gov, 2019).

Having both areas of Medicare helps bring medical organizations together to advance and enhance health and Medicare worldwide. The technology behind telemedicine has gone through many years of changes and advancements that resulted in a system that is more accessible and user-friendly both for patients and healthcare providers alike. We live in the age of technology; I still use different communication devices to check my health record, contact my healthcare provider, and even set up my next available prescription renewal or refill without any hassles or long unnecessary waste of time phone calls. According to (NEJM Catalyst, 2019), approximately 95+ per cent of people in America own a cell phone, and about 75% of those individuals have a smartphone. What does this mean, you ask? Well, imagine needing an appointment with your provider; all you have is a phone that only makes calls the conventional way. Today, you have a smartphone, and you can use an application designed to schedule your appointments or refill your medication without needing to speak to someone in person or make a phone call.

As a health care provider, i.e. nurse, doctor or dentist, you also have the capability of communicating with your patients now with text messaging and applications that allow you to put relevant health information about your patient on a communication app to inform them about their health care information anytime and almost anywhere. Time is everything in the healthcare business, and people want healthcare benefits as soon as possible. As a healthcare provider-patient, I want to ensure that I can schedule my appointments when convenient and does not take me all day to schedule or complete an appointment. With the technological advancements in healthcare, I can set up my appointments, see my Dr. and pick up my medicine and medical records within a day, and still have time for regular life events (.

Distance is a huge factor surrounding the health community on a global scale. There are medical advancements in certain parts of the world that are not yet realized in many countries that are needed and could potentially save countless lives. However, getting that information to those needing it can be challenging. Funding and availability are key elements of healthcare, and having the available medical equipment, funding, information, and calibration means life or death for many people worldwide. Several circumstances may prevent patients from getting the appropriate treatment and contribute to the challenges faced by telehealth. Whether where a patient lives or health professional practices, tools are available to assist overall healthcare care. We all live in the age of technology, and using technology to help assist and advance healthcare allows us all to benefit now and for many generations to come. Capturing health information and storing them is a benefit of technology, specifically computer-based local and cloud storage.

Keeping medical information on local and cloud servers brought a new problem for the healthcare system. HIPAA requires all patient information to be private and confidential; keeping them as such is no easy task, especially when there are so many to deal with, and people need to be cognoscente of the policies set forth to protect this information. The main benefit of having health information on local and cloud servers, allows providers to have access to patient information at a moment’s notice to be able to access and formulate informed and educated decisions with better informed and precise medical recommendations based on the history and current information known about a patient’s medical history.

As discussed, healthcare is not cheap, and medical insurance is high, especially in America, where people need more affordable medical insurance. Some of the benefits of telehealth involve cost-effective tools designed to benefit patient-centred care that does not prevent patients from getting the care they need; they include but are not limited to more available appointments, lower cost, affordable medication, 24-hour medical care, communication and standardization among health care systems worldwide. Access to care is essential for patients with existing conditions that require immediate or at the least needed within a certain period and com, and communication with specialists and healthcare organizations in different places is essential. Contacting someone who can provide information on health conditions that are not readily available locally could mean the difference in whether a patient lives or dies.

Quality health has a price tag for healthcare providers; still, to a patient, it is certainly priceless no matter how badly off medically a patient is, and healthcare providers and administrators are obligated to have the patient’s best interest in mind at the very least. Healthcare delivery and availability provide patients with the healthcare needed and healthcare providers with the training and resources to provide the best care, confidentiality, communication and information possible. Healthcare improvement can be ensured with the tools available to healthcare professionals, and patients who know this is the case can trust and have some transparency regarding their healthcare benefits and needs (Ruralhealthinfo.org, 2019).

I have worked in the military healthcare system for approximately 19 years and have been there when the technology was inadequate. The needs of the patients were not being met due to the growing need and lack of technology, resources and communication necessary to provide on-time and quality health and Medicare benefits and availability. The need for better health care will always be a challenge, and telehealth can. It will continue to provide the necessary resources to ensure that everyone worldwide is in a position to care for patients and those who receive care, communicating and progressing as time passes. Hopefully, healthcare will undergo many changes for the better, and telehealth will be at the centre shortly. More and more people are using tools of telehealth to assist them with their healthcare needs, and healthcare providers will get the necessary training needed/required to be able to do their jobs in the best and most quality way(s) available; I am sure I everyone suing the healthcare system will surely appreciate that. So, there is information regarding telehealth, some about telemedicine, and differences/similarities between the two subjects. Healthcare and not insurance are not the needs of everyone, and the better we can provide health care, the better society for it.

References

What is telehealth? How is telehealth different from telemedicine? (2019, October 17). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-telehealth-how-telehealth-different- telemedicine.

NEJM Catalyst. (2019, April 17). What is Telehealth? Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://catalyst.nejm.org/what-is-telehealth/.

Rural Health Information Hub. (2019, February 10). Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/telehealth.

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The Use of Medical Information Online and Current Barriers Facing Telehealth

After conducting independent research using at least three sources not used in the class, write a summary examining the use of online medical information and current barriers facing telehealth or telemedicine.