Virtual Health Care & How Beneficial It Is?

With the fast-paced life that we are leading today, internet access seems to be an essential part of our day to day life. From going out for shopping to shopping from the comfort of your home today, we prefer to do a lot of such things from our homes rather than actually going outside we are relying more and more on the internet to get things done as compared to the yesteryears. In this regard, virtual health care has also been gaining wide popularity among the masses in recent years. So what exactly is virtual health care? 

Virtual health care means consulting a doctor or a medical specialist from your home via videoconferencing or through audio-based connectivity. The best thing about it is that you can get all the answers to your problems and get properly assessed just as you would when you go for a face to face consultation with the doctor.

As per Park Associates, as much as 60 per cent of people in the United States with internet connectivity prefer consulting doctors through a virtual means or by phone. A virtual consultation comes in handy, especially when you do not wish to travel to a different place just for the consulting, this, of course, results in you saving a lot of time and money. 

What are the Benefits of Virtual Health care?

There are so many benefits of virtual health care for both the specialists and the patient. Firstly the gap between the patient and the doctor is greatly reduced, with virtual health care doctors are able to easily reach those that are living in very far off places. Through virtual health care, doctors can also educate people about preventive measures when it comes to certain diseases. 

What this does is. As a result, people are more aware of what is normal and what is not, and they can seek medical advice sooner. This really helps in reducing the cases of hospitalizations as well and also saves the precious time and money of patients while helping them lead a healthy life. After going through a surgery or while on the road to recovery through virtual health care, the patients are also more easily able to follow up with their doctors. 

A virtual consultation since it does not involve the hassle of going to the doctor’s office, waiting in line and such also helps the doctor to save time and so more and more patients can be seen in a short amount of time. 

As much as 75 per cent of all the money spent in the healthcare industry is pertaining to treating serious illnesses. With the help of virtual consultations and remote monitoring, that number is slowly decreasing. 

Lesser the number of face to face consultations means more the amount of money saved by both the doctors as well as the patients. Not only does virtual health care help in saving money, but it also helps in saving time. In bigger cities, it is seen that the average wait time for an in-person consultation ranged from 5 days to 2 months for illnesses like sinus infections and headaches. However, with virtual health care, the wait time has been greatly reduced as doctors are seeing patients outside of their working hours as well. 

Virtual health care also makes it possible to get access to your test results saved in the form of electronic records more easily. The various virtual portals, help people in getting easy access to their medical test results schedule to follow-ups, along with getting periodic messaging pertaining to their particular health needs.

Is Virtual Health care really that different from Telehealth?

To a layman, both the terms virtual health care and Telehealth might sound similar, but these two are completely different from one another. Virtual health care is actually a part of Telehealth. Telehealth is a very broad concept which consists of health care that is technology-driven.

According to Care Innovations COO Marcus Grindstaff which he explained in a video from RPM Academy said that Telehealth is a broad term that includes various solutions that work towards serving those who are at a distance. And so it can include consulting a doctor at a distance, managing a high-risk gestation etc. A

telehealth technology might include telephone, videoconferencing, or even an IVR. Telehealth is in a lot of demand lately as people are looking for easier methods of consulting doctors which also helps them save their time, energy and money. 

Dr Adam Licurse wrote in Harvard Business Review that 97 per cent of patients were satisfied with a virtual program which was organized at one of the Women’s Hospital in Birmingham. As much as 74 per cent of these patients said that the experience helped them to improve their relationship with the provider.

What is the future of virtual health care like?

The virtual health care technology seems more than just a fad. It is expected to take over most current modes of treatment in the near future. However, this does not mean that we will see an end to the traditional treatment system; it will still remain relevant and will maintain its central position in the future as well. It is just that virtual health care will be an effective alternative to it.

The technology is steadily improving with a promise to make virtual health care popular among the masses as much as it is possible, but since it is a new concept, people are still very sceptical about its outcome. However, the health care organizations are working towards improving the infrastructure and with it is it is most likely that people will begin to rely on virtual health care more and more as it is both cost and time-saving.

Embry Womens Health Telehealth Online Appointments Available in Arizona

Our E-visits or tele-visits are available as a scheduling option for both our new and established patients.  Certain health care needs can be provided over the internet without an in-person visit.  This service lets us provide the care you need without having to leave your home.