Remote Medical Consultations

If you have been looking for a way to reduce your medical costs without sacrificing necessary visits to your doctor, remote medical consultations may be the answer you have been looking for. Technological advances are making it easier for doctors and patients to consult with one another regardless of location differences. If your primary care physician offers remote medical consultations, you may want to explore this service as an affordable alternative to routine checkups. During a remote medical consultation, you will video chat with your physician and provide information necessary to make an accurate diagnosis based on your symptoms. You can utilize this service at your primary care facility if your doctor is out of town or from the comfort of your own home. Whether you want to use this service on occasion or on a regular basis, remote medical consultations can prove useful in a variety of different ways. More information about the benefits of remote medical consultations is covered below.

Discovering Remote Medical Consultations

For those unfamiliar with the term, a remote medical consultation is a consultation your doctor performs with the aid of technology. He or she will likely use a combination of pictures, video chat features and wearable health monitors to perform this service. You can utilize remote medical consultations in a variety of ways to determine the cause of a current ailment or to perform your annual checkup. Whether you have difficulty traveling to see your primary care physician or you want to save time and money by receiving a consultation at home, this service offers several key benefits. Some health insurance providers offer these consultations as a perk of the coverage plan, although many doctors may offer this regardless of plan. Through remote medical consultations you can send your doctor a picture of an ailment you are suffering from—whether it is a rash, cut, or bruise—and they will then be able to determine what treatment is needed. Remote medical consultations are additionally helpful during the recovery time following a surgical procedure. Checking in with your physician via video chat can help you to discuss your progress and will allow you to avoid the hassle and discomfort of transporting yourself to see your physician in person.

Determine if Remote Medical Consultations are Right for You

Some individuals may feel uncomfortable with the prospect of having their medical consultation performed remotely. Advances in technology are helping to ensure a remote consultation is as effective as an in-person visit and are just as private if not more so. If you are an individual with diabetes, you can utilize remote medical consultations to save yourself time and money by avoiding repeat visits to your physician. For conditions such as diabetes, remote medical consultations offer you the ability to track your blood sugar levels at home before emailing the results to your physician. By utilizing the service in this way, you are still providing your doctor with necessary information and you are keeping yourself healthy without setting aside time to attend an in-person appointment. For those of you who simply want to consult with your doctor quickly and efficiently, utilizing a remote medical consultation can help you achieve this goal. If you are feeling under the weather but you are unable to see your doctor due to a full schedule, you can set up a time to video chat with him or her on your lunch break. By conducting your consultation this way, you can receive a proper diagnosis without spending additional time planning an in-person visit. Regardless of what you may need a remote medical consultation for, opting to use this method can save you money. Most doctors will charge significantly less for a remote consultation than they will for an in-person consultation. Additionally, there is the benefit of privacy and comfort. Many people with disabilities, or those who find driving difficult, can benefit from the in-home care option that telemedicine affords.

Benefits of Remote Medical Consultations

Remote medical consultations provide benefits beyond the possibility of saving money and spending less time visiting your physician in person. If you live in a rural area where accessing a primary care physician is difficult, utilizing a remote consultation can help you to receive the care you need in a timely fashion. If you have suffered an injury or serious illness, you may need to seek care beyond city limits to treat your ailment. Receiving consultations from physicians in other areas of the country or the world can be complicated and expensive as you will need to travel from one doctor to another. To avoid these costly travel and consultations fees, you can opt instead to conduct your consultation remotely. Either you or your physician can consult directly with a specialist through video interfaces to determine the best possible care plan. Thanks to advances in technology, it is much easier for your primary physician to transfer any necessary information to an outside specialist. Additionally, elderly patients or patients with limited mobility may find it useful to conduct remote medical consultations with their physician if they are unable to travel easily. Another benefit of using remote medical consultations is to build a support net. While most remote medical consultations are with a doctor or medical specialists, some patients use it to link up patients with similar conditions. For example, some doctors have organized online support groups for patients who have the same or similar illnesses. For those who are suffering from addictions, there are many telemedicine directives that can help those who are seeking drug and alcohol rehabilitation services. One of the largest reasons people do not seek treatment is they are afraid someone will find out. Being able to collaborate with a treatment center remotely, and use follow up and supportive care from a family doctor could mean the difference between rehab and relapse. Medical specialists use remote medical consultations for a similar purpose. If you have a truly unique condition, doctors may remotely bring in a specialist to help them with your diagnoses. They may even use remote medical consultations even if you are physically present in the doctor’s office. In the past, one of the biggest disadvantages of remote medical consultations was limited access. Doctors and patients were limited to facilities with access to the proper technology. However, thanks to advances in technology it has never been easier to arrange live video communication. This is very helpful for patients, since it means medical facilities do not have to charge nearly as much to justify the costs of expensive equipment, as well as opening you up to many more medical specialists.

By Admin – October 2018