One of the most lasting and seemingly permanent aspects of the changes introduced to society in the 2020s is the way technology brought us closer together and changed aspects of how we relate and interact with each other. Part of this involves changes in healthcare, through which patients can now receive care and treatment remotely using video conferencing applications. This is known as telehealth, and due to its many benefits like greater convenience and accessibility, it’s an option that many patients prefer to use.

Telehealth or telemedicine are largely two aspects of the same process – using technology to bring doctors, pharmacies, other care providers, and patients closer together. You may have already been using telemedicine or telehealth technology without even realizing it, as something as simple as sending a message to your doctor online or communicating with a healthcare provider over the phone falls into this category.

However, telehealth has evolved and grown dramatically since the beginning of the Covid pandemic and is usually used to refer to video calls. Concerns about infection control and the rise of video conferencing apps in other areas of life, like work and school, meant that suddenly telehealth was at the forefront of medicine and replaced in-person visits for many people. If you’re new to the world of telehealth, this article will prepare you with everything you need to know to make sure your first appointment is a success.

Your Role in Telehealth

To begin with, there are a few different options used in telehealth:

Patient Portal

Logging onto your patient portal will require a username and password, keeping the process secure. Once logged in, you will be able to send and receive messages, obtain test results or other information, check your prescriptions, and likely schedule appointments.

Virtual Visits

These are different from logging onto the patient portal in that they must be scheduled and involve a healthcare professional on the other end of the line working with you. The process will be roughly the same as an in-person visit, involving waiting for the doctor and discussing your health concerns and other issues.

There are a few things you can do as the patient to make sure that you have a smooth experience:

• Schedule the appointment ahead of time and make sure you are on time
• Clarify with the office what type of technology or applications you will need to use
• Download these or familiarize yourself with them before the appointment
• Make sure you have a steady internet connection for the appointment
• Conduct any tests your doctor will want, like a temperature, blood pressure reading, or blood sugar level
• Find a quiet space where you can speak privately and not be disturbed
• Make sure there is good lighting if the doctor needs to see you
• Prepare any paperwork, test results, or prescriptions you will need for the appointment

If you follow these steps, you should have an easy experience with minimal issues. Remember to be patient, as the technology takes a little bit of work to get right and doctors can still be running behind, even for telehealth appointments. However, most people find that telehealth is a convenient, simple, and far easier method of receiving care than going in for appointments.

Some healthcare offices use their own website as a portal for you to connect to, or some might use third-party apps like Zoom, Apple FaceTime, Skype, or Google Hangouts. The federal government loosened some HIPAA regulations around telehealth during the pandemic to make it easier to meet requirements without conducting in-person visits.  Skype and Zoom largely dominate the field, although there are many other options you might be using.

How Does Telehealth Benefit You?

When the most vulnerable and needy among us are taken care of, we are a stronger, healthier society. Social safety nets are important because unfortunate accidents or health issues can happen to anyone at any time, and there is little that can be done. People with mobility issues, lack of transportation, or mental health concerns can access lifesaving care more effectively, creating a better world for all of us.

Telehealth is not perfect, and it has limitations. For example, you can’t get most tests or physical examinations done over the internet, and anything like surgery is impossible. However, routine checkups and visits that can be done without physical contact are made much more efficient by telehealth, freeing up time for providers to focus on the cases that do need to come into the office.

Telehealth and telemedicine are here to stay, as the benefits are numerous – from enhanced infection control to greater convenience for everyone. If you haven’t used video conferencing technology yet, you likely will at some point in your life, as the world grows ever more connected through technology. It’s simple and accessible technology that functions without issue for millions of people every day and will revolutionize the medical field for decades to come.

Last Update Oct 16, 2022 @ 5:21 pm

One thing we have all heard a lot about in the last few years is virtual doctor visits, remote work, and family zoom calls. While much of society has returned to normal following the upheavals of 2020 and 2021, the field of medicine is still utilizing telehealth, due to the many benefits in accessibility, reduced spread of infections, and convenience. 

Telehealth, at its core, is a way to receive medical care without going in person to a doctor’s office. While the Covid pandemic increased the use of video calls specifically, we’ve been using telehealth in several different ways for a while, sometimes without even realizing it. For example, just sending secure messages through your patient website to a doctor is an example of telehealth, as is wearing a monitoring device like a Holter monitor to record your heart’s rhythm and send the signals remotely to your doctor. 

How Telehealth Helps the Most Vulnerable

That being said, when people talk about telehealth and telemedicine today, they are largely referring to video calls conducted through the internet that connect a doctor and patient face-to-face. This has been possible for a while but was brought to far greater prominence than ever before due to the restrictions and fears surrounding the Covid pandemic. The nature of medical practices facilitated the shift to telehealth more easily than other industries, for the following reasons:

• Those with difficulty walking or impaired mobility could see their doctor more easily
• Those with high risks like immunodeficiency syndromes can see the doctor without being exposed to the public
• Virtual doctor’s visits reduced the need to take whole days off of work or schedule childcare to go to the doctor
• Telehealth is more convenient, allowing people to get care in almost any location
• Telehealth can bring specialists in from further away, where they might not have been able to meet the patient in person, sometimes from as far away as across the world. 
• Telehealth allows the doctor or therapists to see patients function in their daily environment.
• People with mental health issues can have an easier time with virtual visits

It’s easy to see why many doctors are continuing to offer telehealth virtual visits. They provide a crucial, life-saving service to those who need it the most, and who may have been unable or unwilling to attend a regular doctor’s appointment 

Virtual Visits and You

While telehealth may sound complicated, it’s really not. Let’s take a look at the basics of how telehealth works.  To get started, you’ll need two things: internet service and a device capable of accessing it like a phone, tablet, or computer. 

The next thing you’ll have to do is contact either your health insurance or your medical provider to set up a virtual visit appointment. Some insurances offer virtual visits for free on a same-day basis, but others might require you to wait for an appointment. Once you have your appointment set, you’ll need to get ready for the call.

To make sure that you are fully prepared and the telehealth visit goes smoothly, consider the following things:

• Make sure your internet connection is reliable, as bad connections are the most common issue that derails telehealth visits.
• In addition, make sure that your camera and microphone are working properly and that you have agreed to all permission requests for the provider to access them.
• Try to find a quiet, private location where you can comfortably discuss medical issues in.
• Make sure the lighting is good, especially if the doctor will have to see something like your skin.
• If you are nervous or not sure about the technology, it’s ok to ask a friend or relative to help you or sit in on the appointment with you, as long as you are comfortable with it.

Types of Technology

The key aspect of telehealth medicine is convenience, and it will only get more convenient as time goes on and technology improves. Due to the extreme need for telehealth medicine during the Covid pandemic, the federal government issued updated HIPPA guidelines that now allow medical practitioners to use common apps like Zoom, Apple FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Skype, or Facebook Messenger video calls to provide services without risking any legal issues. 

However, many providers still use their own in-house websites and technology to conduct telehealth. The specifics vary from provider to provider and can depend on what the patient feels comfortable with. If you’re feeling nervous about the type of technology, always ask your provider for clarification and they will be happy to help find a way to communicate that you are comfortable with. 

Telehealth medicine is here to stay, and it serves some important functions in the field of medicine. Virtual visits and remote access technology benefit the most vulnerable among us by providing an easier way to receive life-saving treatment or care. If you’re interested in telehealth visits, talk to your healthcare provider today and find what works best for you!

Last Update Sep 25, 2024 @ 6:00 pm

One of the most exciting ways that the field of health and medicine has changed recently is the advent of remote services, conducted through telephone or video call technology. This is known as telehealth, and it has enabled medicine to become more widely accessible, especially to those who are most disadvantaged and underserved in society. The wider reach and accessibility of telehealth medicine correlate with a positive impact on mental health, due to the numerous benefits and advantages that it creates. 

What is Telehealth?

One thing that most people became quickly aware of during the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic was the ubiquitous video calls, Zoom meetings, and remote work. While there are drawbacks to experiencing less social and personal interaction, there are also many benefits that can be achieved using this technology. One of these is the ability to provide services more easily, affordably, and conveniently to those who have difficulty traveling, compromised immune systems, or are experiencing poor mental health and the negative effects that can have on an individual’s life. 

Before moving on to discuss the positive impact that telehealth has on mental health, it’s important to understand the distinction between telehealth and telemedicine. Telemedicine refers to the specific doctor/patient visits, while telehealth encompasses all of the various supportive roles that must be played to keep telemedicine running smoothly, from administrative work, to medical records, to accounting roles. While this distinction is important from a technical aspect, the terms are largely used interchangeably by the public and can be understood as two facets of the same process. 

The Many Benefits of Telehealth

It’s easy to see how a more widespread and accessible form of treatment for mental health can have a positive impact on the overall mental health of society. After all, if treatment for mental illnesses is hard to access, too expensive for the average person, or simply inaccessible due to physical or mental limitations, we all suffer. Society itself benefits from easier access to mental health services for those who are most vulnerable to them. 

Let’s go over some of the specific ways that telehealth protects and serves society as a whole when it comes to mental health treatment:

Telehealth is more affordable

An unfortunate truth is that mental illness more seriously affects those who lack the resources to deal with it adequately. Without treatment, those dealing with mental illness rarely, if ever, see their conditions improve and go into remission. Significantly, poverty itself has a majorly deleterious effect on mental health, from constantly worrying about bills, to food insecurity, to a lack of proper shelter and housing availability. 

Telehealth can mitigate this in several ways due to being cheaper and saving money. This means that those living in poverty who might not have health insurance can afford to seek treatment without breaking the bank or being forced to choose between treating their mental illnesses, or paying rent and buying food. 

Telehealth is easily accessible

Telehealth has been around for a long time, but before the Covid-19 pandemic, it wasn’t very common or widespread. However, the pandemic has caused a surge in mental health crises, such as rising addiction and suicide rates. This creates a two-fold problem: shutting down society causes mental health issues to spike, while simultaneously creating a lack of easy access to those who are most qualified to treat them. 

Telehealth can play a major role in fixing these issues. Medical professionals recognize that the major disruptions and changes in society due to the pandemic have caused “deaths of despair”, i.e. suicides, overdoses, and broken lives caused by fear, unemployment, and isolation. Some estimates place the number of these preventable deaths at 75,000, although the true number could be far higher.

Telehealth is the number one way to deal with this issue. While society must take precautions to slow the spread of diseases, there has to be a way for the most vulnerable among us to receive the treatment they need. The best way to provide these services to them while still maintaining safety and proper infection control is to conduct remote visits over video, which is precisely why telehealth and telemedicine saw such a surge in demand during the pandemic. 

Access is Key

Medical professionals have long recognized that one of the major difficulties of mental health treatment is that those who need it the most often don’t have access to it. From substance abuse disorder to cognitive behavioral therapy, the most underserved in our society often suffer the most and, unfortunately, their suffering has an impact on everyone else around them as well. 

Telehealth can play a major role in mitigating these issues, and will be explored and utilized even further as technology progresses to continue helping improve our society one person, and one telehealth visit, at a time.