Services Provided at the Hand Surgery Clinics, Pune

Contents:

• What is Telemedicine?
• What services can be provided by Telemedicine?
• What are the benefits of Telemedicine?

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications technology to exchange medical information from one site to another to improve a patient’s clinical health status. Telemedicine includes a growing variety of applications and services using two way video, email, smart phones, wireless tools and other forms of telecommunications technology.

The use of telemedicine has spread rapidly and is now becoming integrated into the ongoing operations of hospitals, specialty departments, home health agencies, private physician offices as well as consumer’s homes and workplaces.

Sometimes telemedicine is best understood in terms of the services provided and the mechanisms used to provide those services. Here are some examples:

• Primary care and specialist referral services may involve a primary care or allied health professional providing a consultation with a patient or a specialist assisting the primary care physician in rendering a diagnosis. This may involve the use of live interactive video or the use of store and forward transmission of diagnostic images, vital signs and/or video clips along with patient data for later review.
• Remote patient monitoring, including home telehealth, uses devices to remotely collect and send data to a home health agency or a remote diagnostic testing facility (RDTF) for interpretation. Such applications might include a specific vital sign, such as blood glucose or heart ECG or a variety of indicators for homebound patients. Such services can be used to supplement the use of visiting nurses.
• Consumer medical and health information includes the use of the Internet and wireless devices for consumers to obtain specialized health information and online discussion groups to provide peertopeer support.
• Medical education provides continuing medical education credits for health professionals and special medical education seminars for targeted groups in remote locations.

Telemedicine has been growing rapidly because it offers the following benefits:

Improved Access – For over four decades now, telemedicine has been used to bring healthcare services to patients in distant locations. Not only does telemedicine improve access to patients but it also allows physicians and health facilities to expand their reach, beyond their
own offices. Given the provider shortages throughout the world in both rural and urban areas, telemedicine has a unique capacity to increase service to millions of new patients.

Cost Effectiveness – Reducing or containing the cost of healthcare is one of the most important reasons for funding and adopting telemedicine technologies. Telemedicine has been shown to reduce the cost of healthcare and increase efficiency through better management of chronic diseases, shared health professional staffing, reduced travel times, and fewer or shorter hospital stays.

Improved Quality – Studies have consistently shown that the quality of healthcare services delivered via telemedicine are as good those given in traditional in person consultations.

Patient Demand – Consumers want telemedicine. The greatest impact of telemedicine is on the patient, their family and their community. Using telemedicine technologies reduces travel time and related stresses for the patient. Such services offer patients the access to providers that might not be available otherwise, as well as medical services without the need to travel long distances.