Telemedicine, Health Care's future in Nepal

The term telemedicine comes from the combination of "Tele," in Greek, meaning "distance" and "mederi" in Latin, meaning "to heal" Distance is a limit to accessing timely, good-quality health care for individuals living in remote areas. By bridging this gap between the patient and the healthcare provider, telemedicine attempts to overcome this constraint. Telemedicine is defined by the World Health Organization as "The delivery of healthcare services, where distance is a critical factor, by all healthcare professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of healthcare providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities" For example, to automatically upload vital signs and send them to a remote monitoring center, a patient or health care provider or caregiver may use a wireless phone. Telemedicine was one of the original technologies that improved the spread of healthcare services, where access to healthcare facilities was also possible in areas that were initially deemed inaccessible.

Telemedicine Benefits

Telemedicine enhances the accessibility of patients living in remote areas to health care facilities and allows doctors to reach out to patients and extend their services beyond their own clinic. For both the patient and the health care provider, telemedicine reduces travel time. It also reduces the number of hospital stays, allowing for shared staffing of health professionals, which translates into lower costs of health care. In addition to the reduction in travel time, it also reduces travel-related stress. As the patient, primary care physician, specialist and family members may be actively involved during a consultation, it enhances continuity of patient care.

Telemedicine's challenges

Physicians may be unaware of the benefits or usefulness of telemedicine and may be resistant to the use of such technologies as e-medicine. Another challenge is building confidence in patients about the outcome of these new technologies. In some countries, language may be a barrier. For instance, with only 2 percent being well-versed in English, only 65.38 percent of India's population is literate.

From a hospital perspective, telemedicine implementation involves high-capital investments related to technology and communication, which can become financially unworkable. Various forms of software support telemedicine, and hardware is still immature and needs to evolve.

Completion

Telemedicine is the answer to the question of solving the problem of healthcare facilities being inaccessible. It can serve multiple purposes along with basic or specialized healthcare services with appropriate implementation. Recent advances in the field of information technology have enhanced the quality of telemedicine services and significantly reduced the associated costs. However, in relation to telemedicine, concerns about the safety of patient data or becoming totally dependent on such services are being raised. However, the judicious use of this healthcare technology can save a lot more lives than before and significantly reduce the cost of healthcare.

For physicians and health practitioners, Cura Health offers m-clinics that are easy to use. The Physicians app allows experts to provide advice, handle appointments and collect payments anywhere, anywhere. Also you can download the app. Click here to get it on your phone.