Benefits and Challenges of Telehealth in Rural Areas: A Complete Guide
Telehealth is a new technology that connects patients with doctors worldwide using smart technology like a video call. The idea of telehealth took birth in the 20th century. In the initial stages, it was not considered a good idea, but in the previous pandemic of Covid-19, it played a significant role in saving thousands of lives. Telehealth provides the facility for doctors and patients to contact each other from all over the world to solve their problems. There is no need for a patient’s physical appearance in front of doctors.
In the past, a patient had to reach a doctor physically to get medicine or discuss his health, but now it is not necessary. A patient can take medicine just by sitting at home. It is also the fastest method to take medicine from a doctor, and it is also a fast technique for a doctor to meet his patients. Many healthcare centers are providing the facility of this virtual treatment via video calling. In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of telehealth in rural areas.
Table of Contents
Pros of Telehealth
There are many advantages of telehealth which are given below.
Comfortable:
Most patients feel uncomfortable while visiting doctors or hospitals, but by using telehealth services, this impression low downs, and a beautiful relationship is built between patients and medical health professionals. So, patients feel free to ask any question from doctors, and this leads to fast recovery of patients from diseases.
Fastest Method:
Telehealth services seriously work very fast. A medical professional can handle double patients while using telehealth compared to physically meeting patients. So, adopting this method is also very useful for doctors. This is why most doctors are now moving to telehealth services because it is the need of the present era.
Emergency:
In rural areas, if a patient needs to go to the hospital, it is a very big problem that might even lead to death. With the help of telehealth, now an emergency, we can also contact medical professionals to get specific advice for the patients. Another important factor is that in the past, a doctor also had to come to his clinic to check on his patients, but if he is out of the city, he can’t check on his patients. Now telehealth makes it look very easy for doctors because a doctor can video call his patients anywhere else in the city.
Easy to connect:
Telehealth services are very easy to get because there is no need for special devices to connect with doctors. We should have a mobile phone for video calls. If you have a mobile phone, it means you can contact your doctors whenever you want. This is why it is an ideal experience for everyone to take telehealth services for health. Although, the young generation shows lower-than-expected interest in virtual-first healthcare, as 62% prefer to communicate with their provider in person.
The danger of Infections:
In physical treatments, sometimes germs of an affected patient can be transferred to another patient, which could be very dangerous. By using the facility of telehealth, a patient vanishes the danger of transferring germs from one patient to another. It means it is a very useful method to treat patients.
Challenges of Telehealth
Although we know that there are many advantages of using telehealth simultaneously, there are many challenges a medical health professional has to face while practicing telehealth.
Devices
Telehealth is a proper mechanism; professionals need special devices to run this process. If these devices are not available, then practicing telehealth is not possible.
Training
As I have said earlier, running a telehealth process needs special training, knowledge, and education as well. First of all, medical professionals have to take this training or courses then they can start using telehealth.
Summary
In this article, we have discussed some of the advantages and challenges we can face while practicing telehealth. Telehealth is an effective method most of the time, but still, there are some challenges to keep running this process that I have discussed above. After studying intensely, I have concluded that telehealth is the future Health Care Department.
