By Top Telehealth Categories for the Seniors that Can Change the Way Care is Being Delivered to Seniors
- What is telehealth?
Telehealth is a virtual visit to a healthcare provider. Connecting to your physician online and receiving the treatment remotely. The best use of communication technologies like mobile phones, video conferencing, computers and cameras for consultation and treatment programs.
Telehealth has various options to attend to the patient:
- Online consultation with a doctor.
- Receive online diagnosis reports, prescriptions and treatment insights.
- RMS-Remote monitoring system to track the case study and progress of the case.
Telehealth has proved the best option for seniors to get medical help for a decade but the use of telehealth has dramatically increased during the pandemic COVID-19.
- Types of telehealth?
- Live video calling or meeting and consultation
Video calling has been the most widely used telehealth facility. Especially in distant areas where the hospital facility is not sufficient or is at a distance. Video meetings connect the patient and doctor immediately to resolve the medical problem. It is also beneficial in saving travel time and energy for seniors.
- Asynchronous Video (Not a live video)
Asynchronous video facility is providing a recorded video file to the patient or doctor for better understanding. For example, a patient’s case history can be checked by the doctor accurately if provided a video file of the case. Patients’ health reports or test results can be recorded and provided to the patient by the hospital.
- RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring)
Senior citizens use RPM regularly. The constant health checks and reports or readings can be electronically sent to the doctor for verification. The health data can be circulated to specialists at any location if required, and a second opinion in the treatment. Seniors having dependency problems or chronic health issues often use RPM.
- Mobile Health (health)
Health on your mobile phone. Software and applications are developed to solve many health issues. Any tablet or Smartphone device can install the app and utilize the essential features and get medical help.
Features like diabetes, blood pressure checkups, nutrition consultancy, health and fitness tips, exercises, etc. can be very helpful for patients to detect the symptoms and get treatment accordingly.
- Teleradiology
Radiology is the imaging technique that is used by the medical departments to examine or diagnose internal body parts. Ultrasound, MRI, X-ray, etc The radiology combined with the digital medium this collaboration is Teleradiology.
Through Teleradiology, the doctor can examine the patient’s MRI or X-ray from any location. This saves a lot of time for healthcare providers and patients. Through Teleradiology, the complex reports can be circulated to specialist teams for better diagnosis in emergencies which can be so valuable and helpful for the patient.
Life-saving decisions can be quickly implemented by the specialist and that can help the patient in a big way.
Teleradiology is the most effective and advanced feature of telehealth technology. It is a very important aspect of telehealth. Seniors have benefited hugely from this technology.
- Teledermatology
Dermatology is the medical term used for the treatment of surgical and non-surgical diseases related to skin, hair, nails, and cosmetic issues. The reports generated digitally for the healthcare providers to diagnose and analyze the condition is called teledermatology.
Through telecommunications or digital mediums, patients can connect to the doctor and can examine their condition. Tele-dermatology is the most reliable methodology to detect the disease and get the correct treatment.
Patients from remote areas or seniors who find it difficult to approach the hospital due to ill health can use the tele-dermatology feature through the medical applications installed on phones, which are connected to the hospital system with the assigned doctor.
- Tele rehabilitation
The networking with patients suffering from disabilities, the post-surgery recovery process, and lack of energy or sustainability in the body due to disease or post-surgical phase. The connectivity of doctor and patient through video, audio, or telecommunication is called telerehabilitation.
The treatment of patients or the therapy sessions conducted by doctors via video, audio, or recorded video mediums are all part of telerehabilitation. This technology doesn’t just help the patients but also the physician. As physicians can acutely monitor patients’ data and progress and guide them accordingly in a much quicker time.
The elderly population has gathered immense confidence and has benefited from the telerehabilitation features of telehealth. Direct communication and consultation from the healthcare provider motivate the patient and empower them to take control of the situation. Individuals over 65 have seen tremendous growth in the use of telerehabilitation and gained effective results.
- Telepsychiatry
The clinical psychiatric care provided from distance through the combination of information technology and medical applications is telepsychiatry. The telepsychiatry application developed by the advanced technology that diagnoses the psychiatry issues are widely used by the senior citizens, especially after the breakdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mental conditions like stress, loneliness, depression, sleep disorders, overthinking, anxiety, etc. can be acutely rectified and can be provided online treatment by the specialist.
Comfortable communication through video or audio devices and professional counseling by the experts can help the senior patient in many ways.
The applications developed for psychiatric conditions are very beneficial as they have minute details and data of the patient, which helps in constant checkups by the doctors and provide treatment accordingly.
The various education programs and mental exercises and proper attention of the experts on the case growth chart of the patient help in the recovery.
- Telepathology
The pathology is practiced from a distance and the data glass slide which is digitally transformed into an image scanner on a high-end computer with a monitor or a phone and analyzed by the doctors is telepathology.
The images sent digitally in video format, images, or data form for the diagnosis, research, or treatment purpose is telepathology.
The biopharmaceuticals and the research institute widely use the telepathology feature. The digitalization of the pathology process makes it a much faster and more efficient process.
Telepathology can be very useful in providing educational material and sessions to students giving them a detailed analysis of the subject.
3. Conclusion
The impact of technology has been vital for senior citizens. The new area to explore in the technological field was not an easy task but with the support of the family members, caretakers, and good online support programs the telehealth technology was accepted by the senior citizens.
The easy and up-to-the-mark applications and features designed for the aging adults by the software development companies and the telehealth for the seniors have proved very beneficial to the society.
It didn’t just reduce the hospital traffic but the problems usually faced by the ailing seniors to reach the medical center for treatment were also solved.
Telehealth is the best support system developed for the betterment of senior citizens and society.
The healthcare centers will only increase the implementation of telehealth services in the coming time.
