Since we’re in the age of smartphones and mobile devices, it’s no surprise that a lot of services have been given via these channels – healthcare is no different. Gone are the days when you can avail healthcare services only by going to the doctor’s clinic. Nowadays, telehealth has allowed doctors to provide healthcare services remotely.
But is telehealth really as effective as it claims to be? As a healthcare practitioner, you need to ask yourself whether or not it is a worthy investment that will prove valuable to your clients or not. In order to know that, you need to know the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of service. Take a look at them below in order to have a better idea of how you can benefit from it:
Pros:
1. Expansion
The first benefit of this type of service is expansion. “From a health practitioner’s point of view, telehealth allows him to reach out to patients who are far from the reach of his local municipality. This is actually one of the main benefits of telehealth since it eliminates the logistics problem of visiting your doctor. We have got many cases even outside of the state due to telehealth,”says Dr.Rodney, one of the early adopters of Doctorspring’s telemedicine platform for private practices.
2. Cost Savings
There’s no doubt that people spend quite a bit of money going to the doctor’s clinic. First of all, there is the transportation expense that needs to be covered for going back and forth. Of course, the consultation cost for clinic visits is also going to be more expensive because of the fixed and variable costs that the doctor needs to pay for. From a business point of view, doctors may scale down if they adopt telehealth services. Telemedicine can help hospitals to save costs.
3. Convenience
By offering telehealth services, you’ll be offering patients convenience. They no longer have to go to the clinic in order to avail of some health services. With this kind of service, you might be able to attract more clients.
4. Less Time Needed
With the help of a smartphone or a tablet, you can easily reach out to your clients, and they can easily reach out to you. It shortens the time needed for doctors and patients to meet and communicate with each other because it eliminates travel time among others.
Cons
Of course, telehealth is not all perfect. There are also a few downsides that come with it. They’re as follows:
1. Limited Testing
Since you’ll be communicating with your patients via smartphone or tablet, there will be limited resources for testing. You won’t be able to do any physical tests, examinations, and other things. You’ll only be able to make a diagnosis via video call which may not be enough or even accurate.
2. Signal Issues
You will be conducting clinic visits through your mobile device so you’ll have to rely on a good internet connection. What if the internet connection in the area of your patient isn’t that good? This will cause you to suffer from a very choppy conversation, and you won’t be able to get all of the information needed.
You’ll also waste a lot of time trying to get the right signal levels in your area. Also, power outages in your area may be a problem as well. If ever there’s a blackout, you won’t be able to cater to your patients.
3. Regulatory Barriers
Lastly, there’s the issue of regulatory barriers. Not all states have the same laws with regard to telemedicine. Some states are stricter than others, so even if you want to adopt telehealth services, your state might not allow it. In fact, a lot of states worry about patient privacy implications of telehealth since the telemedicine platform will have access to certain confidential information.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is no definite answer as to whether or not telemedicine is good or bad. There is an equal number of pros and cons that you need to take note of. The only question is whether the pros resonate more with your practice or not.
If you believe that telemedicine is going to be beneficial for your practice, then get it. If you don’t think so or are hesitant about getting it, then don’t. Just take both the pros and cons into consideration when making your decision.