Virtual surgeries and online doctor’s appointments: we explain how telemedicine is changing our lives.
In March 2017, the American media exploded with a sensation: a fitness tracker saved the life of 73-year-old Patricia Lauder. The woman noticed abnormal heart rate, and when her heart rate reached 140 beats per minute, she called an ambulance.
It turned out that there were blood clots in both lungs – because of this, the heart had to work harder. The blood clots were quickly removed, and the woman was discharged within a few days. But, according to doctors, if the patient did not respond in time, the result could not be so optimistic.
Cases where gadgets or mobile applications save lives are becoming more common every year. And the data collected with their help allows doctors to make informed and effective decisions. Today, gadgets, along with information exchange platforms, form a rapidly growing telemedicine industry.
Why is telemedicine not just an online doctor’s call?
Disease prevention
Today, one of the main goals of telemedicine is disease prevention. Smartphones not only count calories and steps, but also help doctors. For example, in Germany, there is the concept of apps on prescription .
The patient is “prescribed” to use devices and applications to change the patient’s behavior and monitor various indicators: the number of calories eaten per day, physical activity, the presence of glucose , and so on.
The data is sent to a secure storage system where it can be accessed by a doctor and can be tracked and analyzed. Such applications help to improve the condition of patients, prevent complications and stop the appearance of new symptoms.
An important element in disease prevention is a healthy lifestyle. To help track physical activity, select a set of exercises and diet, the market offers us a huge selection of mobile applications, devices and fitness trackers.
Diagnosis
The second no less important function of telemedicine is to improve the quality of diagnostics, taking into account the data obtained outside the clinic, at a distance. In this case, telemedicine allows you to minimize the number of visits to the doctor. We are not saying that doctors do not need to be visited at all. Yes, a number of visits are required, but some of them can be fully transferred online.
For example, to diagnose and correct the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, the production of mini-devices that are implanted under the skin or glued to the chest for daily ECG monitoring has long been launched. They monitor the performance of the heart, record a cardiogram, record crises (arrhythmia), transmit data to a secure storage system and medical center of the patient. After that, specialists conduct a detailed examination of the patient.
This whole complex, both data recording and condition monitoring, improves the quality of diagnostics. If it is a heart disease – at the time of the visit the patient may not have signs of arrhythmia or other disorders, but these observations for several days or weeks record not only the manifestations themselves, but also the indicators that preceded them.
In Ukraine, such methods have also begun to be used. When the patient is prepared for a complex operation or at the stage of initial consultations. In the United States, such diagnostic methods are implemented and promoted by insurance companies, and in Europe even at the state level.
It is important to have an accurate diagnosis to reduce the likelihood of medical error and to prescribe effective treatment for the patient’s speedy recovery. Accurate diagnosis helps to detect diseases in the early stages and prevent them, which reduces the cost of treatment.
Treatment
The third goal of the introduction of telemedicine technologies is the possibility of surgical treatment or its control at a distance.
Electronic patient cabinet
In the United States and Europe, patients have long had their own electronic cards with medical histories. This is very convenient, because people may not always know about allergies to drugs, name all chronic diseases or remember childhood diseases. An electronic card can help with this. It does not need to be carried with you to every doctor’s appointment, and the patient’s complete medical history helps to increase the effectiveness of treatment.
In Ukraine, with the introduction of medical information systems in both public and private clinics, this practice is also beginning to appear. At a minimum, each of us has access to an e-office and can make an appointment with a doctor, but he does not yet have access to medical information.
The technology market also responds to this. For example, in 2019, Ukrainian programmers created Ambulance Online Streaming Technology. The technology transmits patient data from the ambulance directly to the hospital, cloud storage and insurance company. It is also synchronized with the patient’s history, which allows you to provide better first aid and prepare the patient for admission to the hospital – even at the stage of being in the ambulance.
Electronic prescription
Telemedicine is also an opportunity to order medicines online and receive them by mail. The doctor writes a prescription, sends it to the pharmacy, the pharmacy delivers the medicine. Moreover, there are programs that remind you to take medication.
Medical conferences
Telemedicine allows both the doctor and the patient to communicate, and to make a joint decision by the medical council. Modern technologies allow to gather doctors from different parts of the country or the world in a virtual room.
Moreover, technology now allows the doctor to be present at the operation in real time online , see everything that is happening, and guide the actions of colleagues with the help of visual images on the screen. For example, indicate where you want to make an incision or where there may be a problem.
Security systems are also being developed in this regard. Therefore, products that allow both the doctor to communicate with the patient and the doctor with the doctor, always pass additional testing for communication quality, continuity, safety. So that the data could not be stolen or altered.
Telemedicine in the post-pandemic world
If before the pandemic the transition to telemedicine was initiated by clinics and insurance companies, now the initiators are the patients themselves. They do not want to go to the doctor again. Even after the crisis and pandemic, people will still avoid offline visits as much as possible.
According to McKinsey, 76% of patients are interested in a further online consultation format. Therefore, the volume of the telemedicine market this year will grow by 64% and will continue to grow in the coming years.
Also, telemedicine technologies can be more used for training. Medical students observe the operations. The online format in this case, firstly, is safer for the patient and, secondly, more effective for students. They, in fact, see the whole process not from the side, but through the eyes of a doctor.
Another point where telemedicine can be used is post-operative audit. Here operation has already passed and it is necessary to carry out its analysis. This will reduce the risks of further operations. And to further minimize risks, the field of virtual planning of operations is already developing .
When doctors according to the given parameters of a particular patient first perform the operation virtually , and only then perform it on a person. This helps to avoid mistakes in particularly difficult and rare cases.
Telemedicine is not just a video call with a doctor. It is a whole system that includes gadgets for diagnostics, applications and technologies that help in treatment, reliable and safe communication between doctors and patients.
This is the coordination and integration of all medical information systems (from electronic patient rooms to clinic management platforms). Telemedicine is like an organism. It has its subsystems, important organs, small capillaries, and all together they ensure the viability of the modern health care system.
