Scientists have been merging healthcare with innovation for quite a long time now. Now, with a few clicks and taps, you can explore your signs and symptoms on the web. You can likewise have almost anything – medicines, glucometers, to Band-Aids – delivered to your doorstep.

With telemedicine, technology can save you from sitting for hours in the doctors office.

Tele-health services market witnessed a boom in India since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The market is expected to reach $10.6 billion by the year 2025.

What Is Telemedicine?

It has also been referred to as tele-health, digital medicine, e-health, or m-health. Telemedicine is a broad term that covers the ways you can digitally communicate with your doctor. It includes phone calls, emails, video chat.

If your physician offers the choice, all you need to use telemedicine is a dependable internet connection and a telephone, smartphone, or personal computer.

Telemedicine can be used by anyone, but its especially useful if you :

• Live in a rural region or a long way from your primary care physician’s office
• Have restricted movement, time, or transportation
• Need medical advice while you’re travelling

How Does it Work

There are different ways you can avail telemedicine services but it depends on what your physician offers. The two most common ways are:

• A patient portal : With just a username and password, you can send and get messages from your doctor , request prescriptions and book appointments. Your physician can likewise share your lab or imaging test results.
• Virtual appointments. Doctors may provide for consultation through a phone or video call. This is more commonly provided by mental and behavioural health professionals.

Many, Not All

Telemedicine is many things, but it cant replace all doctor visits.

If you have chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus or hypertension, you can use telemedicine to share home readings of your blood pressure or glucose levels and to then talk with your physician about them.

In case of more acute conditions like a headache or runny nose, telemedicine can make simpler for you to see if you need to go to the specialist’s office. In case it’s a typical cold, you may be advised to remain at home. In the event it is a sinus infection, your physician might walk you through a simple test of pushing against certain parts of the face to sort out what’s causing it.

A painful throat might require an in-person test called a throat culture. A cough or wheezing may require a closer examination of your chest .

You obviously can not do surgery online, but post-surgery, your surgeon can use telemedicine to checkin on how you are recuperating.

How to Get the Most Out of Telemedicine

Try the technology before hand :

Before you get on on a virtual meeting with your doctor, do a preliminary attempt to ensure you comprehend the framework and work out any crimps. You might need to download an app, software, or program. You may likewise need to wait for your chance in a virtual “lounge area.”

Be ready :

Regardless of a call or a video arrangement, record your symptoms , previous prescriptions , and questions you have ,so its easier to recall when consulting your physician.

Bandwidth speed.

Are there places in your home where the Wi-Fi signal is better? Frozen screens, poor connection, speech lag can make a simple arrangement troublesome. Be certain you’re in the spot with the most stable signal.

Prepare to punt :

You may begin with telemedicine and still end up in your physician’s office. That can be disappointing, however, it’ll assist you with feeling better quicker.

What Telemedicine Services Can I Use?

Speak to your hospital and doctor to find out the prices, timings and availability. Check with your insurance provider to see if they cover telemedicine services.