How is Telemedicine Revolutionizing Healthcare?

On the wake of Covid, people around the world are dubious about visiting the Hospital or Healthcare Center for care. These are the times when going to a hospital or healthcare centre is more dangerous than visiting them for the cure. The chance of getting infected with Covid in a hospital is hazardous than a regular headache. The scenario calls for alternate ways to consult with the physician, which includes Telemedicine. In this blog post, we will be discussing the various aspects of Telemedicine.

What is Telemedicine?

According to WHO Telemedicine is:

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 the 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.

History of Telemedicine

In the early 1900s, radio changed the correspondence means. Roused by radio’s abrupt noticeable quality in each field from amusement to public protection, it wasn’t well before innovators began envisioning how doctors could take care of patients over the radio.

The Radio Doctor

A Radio News Magazine from 1924 highlights an outline of a doctor taking care of a patient through video call, under the feature “The Radio Doctor–Maybe!” This idea was just an editor’s vision of the future; however, after 90 years, these fantasies are realized.

The 1940s, Pennsylvania

Radiology images were sent 24 miles between two townships via telephone line in the world’s first example of an electronic medical record transfer.

The 1950s, Canada

Teleradiology system was used in and around Montreal. As these practices became widespread, so did motion pictures, and with the advent of modern film technology came serious plans for video medicine.

1965, Nebraska

State hospital to perform video consultations.

1967, Miami

Transmission electrocardiographic rhythms from fire stations over the radio to Jackson Memorial Hospital in rescue situations.

Telemedicine officially hits the street.

Telemedicine in India

India has a significant shortage of doctors, and this shortage is further worsened in rural areas where the doctor-population ratio is low.

India, being an agricultural country, has a majority of its population staying in rural areas. On the other hand, due to better opportunities and lifestyle, most doctors, especially super-specialists, practice in urban areas.

Role of ISRO

Telemedicine can play a vital role in bridging this discrepancy, and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) made a seminal contribution to this field almost two decades ago. ISRO connected Chennai’sChennai’s Apollo Hospital to the Apollo rural hospital in Aragonda village in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. ISRO also developed the Village Resource Centre (VRC) concept, wherein telemedicine solutions and online learning opportunities were provided for the villagers’ welfare.

Inauguration of Telemedicine Unit in Tripura by Honorable Former President APJ. Abdul Kalam on 4th Oct 2002

Medico-legal aspects of Telemedicine

Prescription according to IPC - Drugs and cosmetics ACT (1945)

  • Be recorded as a hard copy and signed by the individual giving it with his standard signature and be dated by him.
  • Indicate the name and address of the individual for whose treatment it is given, or the name and address of the owner of the animal if the medication is intended for veterinary use.
  • Indicate the quantity to be supplied and dosage to be taken off the medicine.

Aforementioned implies that a prescription would be invalid in the law’s eyes if it doesn’t follow the above guidelines. This also holds for a drug given via an online consultation.

Information Technology Act, 2000

  • Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, a prescription in electronic format can be accepted as legally valid if it is a secure electronic record affixed with a secure digital signature.
  • Registration number of the physician awarded by their respective state medical council or medical council of India must be mentioned on the prescription and all other communication modes with the patient, including WhatsApp messages.
  • Medical practitioners need to follow numerous legal provisions concerned with safe and ethical conduct while providing web-based medical care.
  • Status of Telemedicine is uncertain since its inception in the year 2000

The Karnataka State Medical Council has even warned Karnataka doctors against providing teleconsultation and threatened state registration cancellation.

Promulgated Telemedicine guidelines

  • The Indian Government has promulgated telemedicine practice guidelines called “Telemedicine Guidelines” on March 25, 2020, considering the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
  • Now, online consultations’ lawfulness is irrevocably established, as long as it follows the guidelines mentioned above.

Telemedicine - Communication Modes

Text-based or chat: It is asynchronous since there is a time lag between the responses from both ends, i.e. doctor & patients. It includes SMS, WhatsApp chat, e-mail, and other messaging platforms.

Audio-based: Such as phone call or WhatsApp audio call. This is synchronous and provides more cues to the doctor than the passive messaging or chat mode.

Video-based: Such as WhatsApp video call and Skype call. This is way more advantageous than audio-only as a doctor can visually inspect the patient’s condition and get more vital cues.

Amalgamation: Many platforms provide an amalgamation of two or more of the consultation mentioned above modes. Typically, these are included in specialized Android/ iOS apps on smartphones and some browser-based apps.

Recent Trends in Telemedicine

Digitalization on Healthcare

Verifiably talking, the medical services industry has been a little slow regarding adjusting the digital method. Be that as it may, due to the Covid emergency, the requests being put on the medical services environment have quickened! This has additionally brought about the expansion of interests in telehealth. Before Covid, Everest Group anticipated that medical care suppliers would be expanding their spending on digital IT services by 15% when we hit 2025. The firm has now changed its position to higher IT Spend and more limited time. It is safe to state that the time of digitalization is here!

mhealth

mHealth is the new skyline for healthcare through smartphones. In essential words, it is a particular method to use smartphones to accomplish improved wellbeing objectives. The worldwide mHealth market size was esteemed at USD 40.7 billion out of 2019 – a number is ready to increment with time. The developing pattern of preventive medical care measures and the ascent in subsidizing or ventures for mHealth new businesses likewise drive market development.

Chatbots in Telehealth

The patients present their symptoms to chatbots, and the application runs them against an information base of thousands of conditions that fit the form. This is trailed by the showcase of potential diagnoses and how they should address the issue. The AI chatbot for medical services has built-in speech recognition and natural language processing to understand the patient’s voice and text to render the best results.

Virtual Visits

From educating and training healthcare professionals to planning medical procedures, AR/VR seem promising!

Virtual visits make the admittance to medical services more helpful. Individuals can see and converse with a clinical expert through their cell phone, tablet or PC. Actual specialist visits are a bit much, all things considered, they can visit with a specialist from the solace of their own home.

Apple Watch has saved numerous lives across the world

Apple Watch’s electrocardiogram (ECG) feature has saved the life of a 61-year-old, according to a report by IANS. R Rajhans, a retired pharma professional, felt unwell in March 2020 and decided to check his ECG on the Apple Watch Series 5 gifted to him by his son.

Telerobotic Surgery

It is now possible to perform robotic surgery using advanced telecommunication system and state-of-the-art robotic surgery equipment. India is the first country to perform telerobotic surgery.

Globally, the patient’s satisfaction rating soaring high up for Telehealth – Post Covid.

Medical Tele-imaging

Tele-imaging is an integral part of Telemedicine: it includes the transmission of medical digital images and plays a role in all fields of Telemedicine, such as expertise, consultation, teaching and research.

Tele-imaging Scopes

a. Digitalization of Radiology Image

Radiologists can use conventional film technology to capture X-Rays and other radiological images and then digitalize them for image transfer.

b. Direct Acquisition of Digital Image

Radiologists can use the recent technologies and equipment to capture the radiological images digitally and then transfer it.

c. Lossless Compression of Medical Images

With the advent of Artificial Compression and computing methods, it is now possible to compress the data, which in this case, medical images loosely and this enables usage of less bandwidth.

How Patient Benefit from Tele-Imaging

Quick Imaging

Patients need results from X-rays, MRIs, CT scan, and other diagnostic imaging administrations as fast as could reasonably be expected, which requires the trained eye of the radiologist to achieve.

Quicker Diagnoses

Digital Imaging enables the radiologist to share and consult with specialists and speed up the treatment plan without patients travelling to the hospitals and waiting to get the appointment.

How Doctors Benefit from Tele-Imaging

Telemedicine for radiology widens radiologists accessibility, permitting them to grow the administration they offer flexibly. Talks with different specialists are more useful for the two radiologists and the other party since radiologist can converse with one another face to face progressively, share screens, share scans and reports, and even inspect patients, all from a far off area.

Ultrasound in Telemedicine

Being able to do the ultrasound and render a diagnosis or treatment plan in real-time without having to transport a patient, delay care, or spend resources and finances on additional unnecessary tests is a win for the patient, provider, and payer.

Mahadhi's contribution to Telemedicine

At Mahadhi, we rendered a unique and Telemedicine-enabled Hospital Information System. You can learn more about our Hospital Information System from the following link.

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