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Telehealth is transforming how patients access medical care, making it more convenient and accessible. Digital technology allows healthcare providers to monitor, diagnose, and treat patients remotely. This approach has given rise to telehealth services like Mobile Physician, a healthcare professional who delivers medical services on the go, leveraging telecommunication tools to meet patients where they are.
With the advent of telemedicine came several challenges not limited to IT security, patient-provider connection, and a host of technological issues. As the adoption of digital medical care is now relatively widespread, there is a new challenge facing telehealth u2013 distraction. According to new survey data, approximately 44% of Americans engaged in a telehealth appointment during the COVID-19 pandemic and a significant proportion of those also reported multi-tasking or being distracted by other tasks during their visit.
The coronavirus pandemic has irrevocably changed the world in several ways, from demonstrating the importance of widespread mental health to improving convenient services like at-home delivery and remote working tools. Even as the healthcare industry continues managing COVID-19 cases, many healthcare professionals are looking to the future, anticipating the ramifications the global crisis will have on the future. To almost everyone, the answer seems clear: telehealth.
Although telehealth has blown up over the past few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been accessible for years. Patients and doctors have been a little skeptical of the process in the past because it was such a new and foreign way to seek healthcare, but it has been beneficial with limited in-person doctor visits this year.
The recent rise in telemedicine use has taken the patient-provider relationship online, offering a platform for clinicians to continue delivering care while ensuring patient health and safety by mitigating unnecessary risk of COVID-19 exposure. For some healthcare practitioners this may be their first encounter with digital care services, and they may be wondering how social distancing guidelines are going to affect the industry as a whole and more specifically, their connection with patients. Amended regulations now allow for the offering of digital medical services without a prior established relationship with patients, leading to an influx of new patient-provider relationships and an increased need for effective telehealth communication strategies.
While the surge in online medicine has increased accessibility, allowed greater flexibility, and helped medical practices remain operational at this time, the rapid expansion of telemedicine presents its own set of risks. Data privacy, online patient safety concerns, and other cybersecurity threats are on the rise, as the pandemic has many emerging telemedicine solutions entering the market before proper vetting and without proven safety records.
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