Telemedicine could expand access to healthcare and reduce emergency room

The meetings naturally take place over Skype on any online video streaming media.

Telemedicine can be a real help for people working as health care providers as this helps them reach out to people. Moreover, it could play a crucial role in bringing down emergency room costs for the healthcare providers as doctors will be able to see more patients in a given period of time. What’s more, through telemedicine, physicians can also provide individuals in need of long-term medical assistance with comprehensive home care remotely without any hitch.

Dr. Lawrence R. Wechsler, chairman of the Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, and vice president of telemedicine services, believes that in the treatment of stroke, for instance, “telemedicine can offer a huge advantage”.

Telemedicine is a brilliant method that allows patients to get in touch with expert physicians sitting several miles away from them and receive the right treatment within minutes. As we all know, timely interventions might reduce the chances of developing stroke-induced disabilities significantly. Also to be cut with Telemedicine is insurance costs for companies that purchase medical policies for their employees.

You must be wondering whether these virtual healthcare services are sustainable.

Reports say that the use of telemedicine can save organizations from buying coverage that can eventually save up to $6 billion per year. Experts have already urged the U.S. states to tag telemedicine as a reimbursable healthcare service for making it a sustainable model.

“A lot of (our services) have been held back a little bit by the lack of reimbursement”,

said Matt Levi, director of virtual health services at CHI Franciscan.

However, not only are government-backed insurers like Medicare not wholly convinced that the idea will not in fact trigger a dramatic increase in costs, but many doctors and healthcare professionals believe that misdiagnosis would increase exponentially were fewer in-person consultations to be carried out going forward.

According to the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), virtual health services are being offered by over 50 per cent of the USA hospitals and these services cover common ailments. What’s more fascinating is that these services are becoming accessible to both rural and urban populations.