Telemedicine

  Telemedicine is becoming very popular when it comes to health care, not only does the internet give patients access to medical terminology it also give doctors access to patients that are unable to make it in to be seen. When thinking about the internet there are advantages and disadvantages that one might see concerning the internet. What might the impact be on the consumers if we became a telemedicine world' What will be the financial impact for both short and long term when dealing with telemedicine' Technology is always improving, what types of improvements might be made to this new type of medical care' Telemedicine Telemedicine is “the use of telecommunications technology to provide, enhance, or expedite health care service.” (Answers.com) Let’s say that you are in an emergency room with a broken leg, and have had prior fractures or breaks to the same leg, doctors will have access to your past x-rays and exams in order to better treat you, using telemedicine. Psychiatrist such as “Jill Afrin, MD,[who is] an American Sign Language fluent psychiatrist,” uses telemedicine to treat some of her deaf or hearing impaired patients. This not only cuts back on her travel time but increases the amount of patients she is able to care for.(Luo,¶2) Schizophrenia patients seemed to be more satisfied with the video conferencing evaluation rather than the face-to-face evaluations. The BPRS or Brief Psychiatric Rating scale, and the SAPS or Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, “score were the same as if the patient was seen in person.” (Luo,¶3) However the score for the SANS Scale for the Assessment for Negative Symptoms did not equal the same as in live person if using a low quality session. Advantages When dealing with any new technology one might discover some advantages and disadvantages to using the new technology over the old ways. Dealing with telemedicine one is going to find both. Time management is an advantage one might have when dealing with telemedicine. For example if you had to go to the doctors in the past one might have to “make [the] appointment, and then you drive to the doctor’s office. [After getting there] you would wait.” (Hernandez ¶5) After waiting in the office to be seen you would then go into the exam room and wait some more, finally seeing the doctor and explaining to him why you are there. With telemedicine you would be able to either e-mail your doctor explaining the symptoms or even have a video conference with the doctor, this saving both of you time. A visit at the office might be followed by a trip to the pharmacy, waiting to get the prescription filled. An e-mail or conference with the physician might lead to a trip to the pharmacy but he has already sent your prescription in to the pharmacist and all you would have to do is pick it up. These are just a few advantages to telemedicine, what about disadvantages' Disadvantages There are always disadvantages when it comes to computer usage; the major disadvantage I find is computer crashes, or internet down. What would happen if Jill Afrin, MD. Was in the middle of a video conference with one of her deaf patients and the computer crashed, how would she be able to contact them to let them know they will continue the conference when the system is back up' Finding compatible programs might also be an issue, most systems need to have the same type of program in order to connect with one another. Skype for example, if the patient did not have Skype on their computer the video conference would not be functional. Security might also become a concern, when it comes to patient confidentiality using an internet connection that is not secure, the information might get into the wrong hands. Cost There are many costs when it comes to updating and training for telemedicine. You would first have to buy the system that is designed for the needs, hiring installers to set up and program the system and train all the personal that will be using the said system. Are the insurance company’s going to pay for a teleconference or virtual visit with the doctor' As of February 8, 2008 “only five states have a statutory requirement that private insurance cover telehealth services, [including] Louisiana (1995), California (1996), Oklahoma (1997), Texas (1997), and Kentucky (2000)”. In the future the financial impact of statutory requirements for all states will be brought up. (Lou ¶10) Improvements If all health care facilities had access to all patients medical records would improve telemedicine a great deal. Setting up smart phones to gain access would also improve the systems by allowing access even if the internet is down. Perhaps even in the future is all humans had a card that is able to be scanned that carries all patients’ medical history will allow all physicians, psychiatrists and any other medical worker will increase efficiency as well as care for all people! Conclusion Telemedicine has moved forward a great deal in the past and will continue to move forward in the future. Time saving and patient history has been the biggest advantage I have found in telemedicine, it gives patient history, medical files, x-rays, test results and even prescriptions at the fingertips of the attending physicians.   References Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/telemedicine Telemedicine and the future of telemedicine: Nora Hernandez Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com Publisher Info www.cinahl.com/cgi-bin/refsvc'jid=1194&accno=2009024927 ISSN: 0746-9217 Accession Number: 2009024927 Database: CINAHL Plus with Full Text Telemedicine: Is It Time Now' Luo, John S Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com ISSN:10826319 Accession Number: 31822991 Database: Academic Search Complete