Telemedicine is particularly useful during a disaster. When healthcare professionals are directed to caring for those at the scene of a disaster, they are less available to consult with and treat those with relatively minor ailments. If your illness or condition can be handled remotely, isn’t that preferable than taking a physician away from treating those with the most dire needs?
Virtual visits in which physicians learn about or “see” patients’ symptoms and conditions, and recommend treatment remotely, aren’t the only way to take advantage of the benefits of telemedicine. While not as common, other uses of telemedicine include downloading and reviewing data from patients’ mobile medical devices, as well as forwarding forward a patient’s medical records quickly and easily to physicians and specialists in other locations. *
Studies have shown that access to healthcare is more important to patients than whether they attend an in-office visit, and that a remote visit is often as good as an in-person interaction.
Graphic created by USA Vein Clinics, a provider telemedicine for vein care.