Telehealth is a trend that has been evolving for several years and recent events have become a predominant use in healthcare visits. Telehealth is a potential tool to deliver health care and decrease exposure risk (Goodman-Casanova et al., 2020). Telehealth is a tool that people with limited resources have to access healthcare when they otherwise would not have been able to. As defined by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) “telemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status” (What is Telehealth, 2020).
A remote system means the usual methods of counter-checking are missing. The identity of both, the patient as well as the provider, may be unclear to each other. There are security issues related to patient data especially of the patient’s personal information. Lastly, distance can remain a barrier for effective education and training of remote staff, posing a threat to evidence-based up-to-date delivery of care(Maeder et al., 2016). As well there are other disadvantages to Teladoc such as the ability of a physician to do a hands-on assessment there is also the need for the patient to have the readiness and ability to learn in this manner. On the other hand, there are many potential benefits that telehealth has to offer. One of these benefits can be ongoing monitoring for patients in their homes instead of an observation hospital stay. Furthermore, on-demand remote medical care via telephone and video conferencing technology giving patients the opportunity to speak with a physician that can diagnose problems such as respiratory infections, flu, allergy, or skin issues anytime or place increasing access to healthcare while lowering costs.
Telehealth will give a quicker, cost-effective, and more accessible care. Having 24/7 direct access to healthcare will enhance patient control, autonomy, and overall health this will contribute to improvements in patient outcomes, efficiencies, and data management.
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