Telemedicine

Telemedicine Meaning

The distribution of medical aid through scientific methods and Information Technology to the diseased from distance is known as telemedicine. Telemedicine was especially taken into account for rural societies so that the healthcare services reach to them and no one goes untreated. The people living in the remote areas are more prone to diseases as major facilities such as pure drinking water, nutrition-rich food or convenient defecation sources are not accessible to them even in the 21^st century. But through telemedicine, it has been feasible for doctors to go beyond the walls of hospitals and avail their helping hand to the needed ones.

It is majorly of three types which are as follows –

• Remote Patient Monitoring – This service is for those patients who are suffering from persistent sickness. It gives the patients the facilitation of being at home and gets treated as well. The mobile medical devices can even gather the minute details about the patient like his blood sugar level, blood pressure etc.
• Store and Forward – This service can be used when one physician wants to consult the other physician. He/she stores the data and forwards it to another doctor when required.
• Interactive Telemedicine – This service gives the sensation of a real-time meeting between a patient and physician. It includes various methods such as video-calling or telephonic conversations.

As we are aware of the fact the coin has two sides, there is nothing which carries only benefits. So, telemedicine acquires both pros and cons.

The Pros of Telemedicine for Both Patients and Physician

1. The biggest advantage, telemedicine provides is the reachability. In the internet era, a predominantly large population is approachable through social networking sites. So, the medical facilities have easily been penetrable through large boundaries.
2. Next comes off the practicality which talks about the user-oriented and handy nature of the telemedicine. These services save both time and money. Therefore, it is a very economical option.
3. The physicians are also saved from the long queue of patients which in itself is a headache. Some minor problems can be cured over mobile or telephone by telling the medicines and curative measures.

The Cons of Telemedicine for Both Patients and Physician

1. These services are limited to some extent as sometimes it becomes necessary to have the patient in front of eyes to examine him/her thoroughly.
2. The special kind of tools, software, and equipment are required for telemedicine as the process is very costly too, and not easily accessible because of some legal reasons. So, it is not meant for many of the physicians.
3. A patient might need the assistance of medical staff or 24*7 observations in some cases which is not possible in case of

In spite of some disadvantages, the major advantages of telemedicine should not be neglected. It conquers all the roadblocks due to the distance and provides medical services in every corner. This becomes more significant with the increase in usage of internet services. The transmission of various health-related informatics is also dispensed with ease.