New technologies have had a significant impact on healthcare as with many other aspects of modern life. Most people count steps, monitor heart rates, and keep track of what is eaten through a smart device. Healthcare and technology have a direct co-relationship, and technology is fully poised to impact the way healthcare providers interact with patients profoundly.
Telehealth- the Future of Healthcare
Any tech that is used to share, analyze, or store health information is referred to as ‘health information technology’ or healthIT. Telehealth or telemedicine falls under healthIT, which is used to provide clinical healthcare, health education, or health information at a distance. It includes both hardware and software.
Why will Telehealth Technology be indispensable for the future?
The ever-growing population of the earth is facing chronic diseases such as diabetes, COPD, and congestive heart failure demands a perfect healthcare system that isn’t available. This calls for a smart strategy where resources are leveraged to offer top-quality care to the maximum number of people possible. Telehealth Tech increases the current healthcare system’s proficiency by optimizing each provider’s productivity by removing geographical barriers to care.
Types of Telehealth Technology
There are three primary telemedicine technologies:
- Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote patient monitoring is often referred to as self-testing or self-monitoring, which basically is a means of monitoring patient health at a distance. It offers simplification with patient testing and is cost-effective monitoring. It is often used to manage and treat chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, and diabetes.
- Store-and-forward
Store-and-forward is the transmission of images from one healthcare provider to another and is the oldest form of telehealth tech. For instance, if your doctor sends digital images of an x-ray to a radiologist for analysis, then they are using store-and-forward telehealth technology. Information of any type can be forwarded, which saves up a lot of time for both parties.
- Real-time audio/video communication
This is what you probably imagine when you think of telehealth technology, and it’s the most impressive aspect, no doubt. This happens when the patient and provider are at different locations and connect using a video call or a simple phone call. This is also helpful in establishing communications with a specialist at a remote location.
Technology is the answer to providing healthcare in locations where services are scarce, and resources are limited. With this tech, very soon, each corner of the earth will have specialist care at their fingertips.
The best companies in telehealth are:
Teladoc Health (NYSE:TDOC)
Livongo Health (NASDAQ:LVGO)
One Medical (NASDAQ:ONEM)
Humana (NYSE:HUM)
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)
