It is incredible how a couple of months can change everything. The healthcare system has been evolving for some time, but many areas were apprehensive about using telehealth services.
Before Covid-19, the future was to include robotic healthcare workers, using 3D printers to print prosthetics, and even the use of a virtual reality system. These things will still occur in time, but the virus situation has taken precedence over these advances. How will the world of healthcare look after the pandemic is over?
Why Do Telehealth Visits Make Sense?
When it was no longer safe to go to your doctor’s office, medical centers had to improvise. Workers used the power of technology to meet the needs of the people. Doctors laid down their stethoscopes and used their webcams instead. Virtual appointments have become the way to see your doctor.
The fantastic thing is that people have seen how much safer it is to be treated without ever leaving their home, and the doctor can see more patients in a day using these methods. When you are not doing lab work, listening to heartbeats, and checking blood sugar levels, it frees up time.
Now, you must remember that there are still people that require personal care. Not all patients can cozy up to their computer and talk with their physician about their ailments. Some medical conditions require evaluation beyond what a computer can do. However, bringing just a few people who need to “see” the doctor is far less risky than having everyone come to the office.
The Shifts in Healthcare
As healthcare app developers, we at Topflight Apps have seen major changes, and we can surely tell that the future of healthcare has shifted to telemedicine. And believe us, when you make that leap, there is no turning back. Doctors are treating patients without ever leaving their homes, and they are safer that way. People have become comfortable in their new roles, and they see the errors in the old methods of operation.
Are regular visits to your local medical clinic becoming obsolete? Keeping the masses out of waiting rooms certainly helps to control infections and avoid pandemic levels of any virus. The more you keep sick people away from each other, the better the chances of maintaining illnesses.
While it took awhile for the new practices to get off the ground, they have now become the new normal. Since the pandemic broke in February of 2020, it is kept healthcare workers on their toes, with patients looking for information about the virus, rapid testing near me, or treatment, should they have become very ill. Some doctors were using Facebook messenger’s video conferencing app, while others were looking to Zoom and Skype. To keep up with this situation that does not appear to be going away anytime soon, many facilities have developed an app to help their patients connect virtually.
A Social Distancing Win
An additive to these applications is a self-triage section. They will give you a series of questions and answers that will help diagnose your issue before the doctor meets with you. A symptom tracker looks for patterns to gather more information. Plus, all these virtual methods leave patients with zero chance of getting an infection from someone or something at the physician’s office.
Social distancing seems to be the new thing, and people who are sick should self-quarantine. Using tele-assessment and e-medicine, the medical community is equipped to handle an emergency of this size. Being isolated at home does not change the needs of the people. There are still routine medications that must be filled as well as new situations that emerge. It is possible to see many patients virtually, so there are shorter wait times to see a physician. Still, nothing is ever going to remove the need for urgent or emergency room care.
Telemedicine Closes the Gap
Why does telehealth make sense? Many people cannot get adequate medical care because they have no way to get to the doctor’s office. Additionally, there are many folks in this country without insurance or in poverty situations that find telemedicine affordable. Some new applications have popped up, allowing you to see the doctor for just $19 a visit, and you can do it from the comforts of home. It is a lot more affordable than the average $100 per session.
Additionally, you may go to the doctor regularly, take your medications, eat healthily, avoid cigarettes and alcohol, and do everything you can to live a healthy life. However, the person sitting beside you in the doctor’s office may not be as diligent. They could have a dangerous underlying illness that has never been treated. All it takes is one cough or sneeze to transfer germs from their body to yours. It is scary when you sit and think about it.
The Covid-19 pandemic is not going to go away anytime soon. Healthcare systems must prepare for the inevitable changes that will occur in the future. While having robotic assistants and such is a significant advance, it may not fit what the new model looks like. Having things like a tele pharmacy app that allows people to get their prescriptions delivered to their door and using other technological solutions will help customize treatment.
Growing Pains
Physicians are seeing that it is possible to diagnose their patients at home, customize a care plan, give advice, have meetings with colleagues using video conferences, and almost every other aspect of their job. Will there be some job loss along the way? Yes, there is always job loss when you have a shift in the way things are done. However, there are jobs created too that are there to meet the new demands.
Having better management and increasingly efficient and creatively empowered staff will lead to a better future in healthcare. The public loves the tele pharmacy app as well as using real-time applications to see the doctor. It saves them time from commuting, money in gas, and they do not have to leave their home.
Consequently, Covid-19 has killed millions of people and ravaged the economy, but it is made some changes that have thrust the medical community in a place that it needed to be. If any good comes out of this pandemic, it would be the fact that Western medicine took a giant leap forward to meet the needs of the public.
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