Telemedicine in La Mesa, CA

What is Telemedicine?

Telemedicine enables health care professionals to assess, diagnose and treat individuals at a distance using telecommunications technology. The approach has been through an impressive evolution in the last decade and it is becoming an increasingly important part of the American healthcare system.

Telemedicine can be defined as the use of technology (computers, video, phone, messaging) by a doctor to diagnose and treat patients in a remote location.

History

What we understand as telemedicine today began in the 1950's when a few hospital systems and university medical centers started to try to find ways to share information and images via telephone. In one of the initial successes, two health centers in Pennsylvania were able to transfer radiologic images over the phone.

In the early days, telemedicine was used mostly to connect physicians working with a patient in one location to specialists elsewhere. This was of great benefit to rural or hard to reach populations where specialists aren't readily available. Throughout the next several decades, the tools required to carry out remote visits remained expensive and complex, so the use of the approach, while growing, was limited.

The rise of the internet age brought with it profound changes for the practice of telemedicine. The proliferation of smart devices, capable of high-quality video transmission, opened up the opportunity of delivering remote healthcare to individuals in their homes, workplaces or assisted living facilities as an alternative to in-person visits for both primary and specialty care.

Telemedicine vs. Telehealth

Although the terms telemedicine and telehealth are frequently used interchangeably, there is a distinction between the two.

The term telehealth consists of a broad range of technologies and services to provide patient care and enhance the healthcare delivery system overall. Telehealth is different from telemedicine because it refers to a broader scope of remote healthcare services than telemedicine. While telemedicine refers specifically to remote clinical services, telehealth can refer to remote non-clinical services, such as provider training, administrative meetings, and continuing medical education, in addition to clinical services. According to the World Health Organization, telehealth consists of, "Surveillance, health promotion and public health functions."

Telemedicine involves using electronic communications and software to offer clinical services to patients without an in-person visit. Telemedicine technology is often used for follow-up visits, management of chronic conditions, medication management, specialist consultation and a lot of other clinical services that can be offered remotely via secure video and audio connections.

Telemedicine Benefits

Using telemedicine as an alternative to in-person visits has a host of benefits for individuals and providers alike.

Patients enjoy:

  • Less time away from work
  • No traveling expenses or time
  • Less interference with child or elder care responsibilities
  • Privacy
  • No exposure to other possibly contagious individuals

Providers enjoy:

  • Increased revenue
  • Better office efficiency
  • A response to the competitive threat of retail health clinics and online only providers
  • Improved patient follow through and better health results
  • Less missed appointments and cancellations
  • Private payer reimbursement

Applications

There are few restrictions to how telemedicine can be used. Here are a few examples of how it is being utilized today.

Follow-up visits

Using health software for routine follow-up visits is not only more efficient for providers and patients, but it also increases the likelihood of follow-up, reducing missed appointments and improving patient outcomes.

Remote chronic illness management

The growing rate of chronic illness is a major problem for our health system. It is a prime candidate for the use of telemedicine software because it makes it easier and less expensive for patients to maintain control over their health.

Remote post-hospitalization care

One telehealth program for individuals with congestive heart failure reduced 30-day hospital readmissions by 73 percent and six-month readmissions by 50 percent.

Preventative care assistance

Weight loss and smoking cessation are the keys to reducing heart disease and a host of other problems. Telemedicine can be a useful device in connecting providers with patients to be sure they receive the help they need to be successful.

School based telehealth

When children become sick at school, they might visit a school nurse or be picked up by their parents and taken to an urgent care center. Some innovative districts have teamed up with doctors to perform remote visits from the school. The provider can evaluate the urgency of the situation and give instructions or reassurance to parents.

Assisted living center support

Telemedicine software has already shown to be helpful in keeping residents of assisted living facilities out of the hospital. Issues frequently occur at night or on weekends, making hospitalization the only alternative even for less urgent issues. With telemedicine, on-call doctors can perform a remote visit to determine if hospitalization is necessary.

For more information about Dr. Linette's practice and Telemedicine in La Mesa, California, contact us at 760-875-2627 or visit our website at LinetteWilliamson.com and schedule your appointment today!

Dr. Williamson's guidance can help you return to an improved quality of life.

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