Digital Telehealth Applications: Advantages, Approaches and Challenges

Up until recently, healthcare professionals typically provided patient care in person at medical offices, hospitals or clinics. However, thanks to the rapid advancement of digital technologies and tools like smartphones and advanced laptops, doctors and other professionals can now provide patient care, diagnoses, and even treatments through virtual platforms.

In this article, we’ll delve deeper into the applications of digital telehealth in the modern age. We’ll explore its advantages, disadvantages, and challenges, and assess the best approaches for delivering world-class healthcare services through digital channels.

What is Digital Telehealth?

Digital telehealth is a relatively new concept within the global healthcare industry. It refers to the delivery of healthcare services through the use of modern technologies. These include video call and streaming services, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and specially designed telehealth platforms.

Telehealth enables medical professionals to conduct appointments and diagnoses online. It also allows them to monitor their patients’ symptoms and progress remotely. While telemedicine refers specifically to the delivery of remote healthcare, telehealth can include the education and training of healthcare professionals too.

How are Telehealth Services Delivered?

There are three key ways in which telehealth services are currently delivered. These methods are:

• Synchronous healthcare. This method allows medical professionals to interact with patients in real time via telephone, computer, or streaming services.
• Asynchronous healthcare. This involves patients recording notes, symptom data, images, and other information to share with their healthcare professionals at a later stage.
• Remote patient monitoring. Professionals can request measurements such as weight, waist measurement, blood pressure, or blood glucose to get sent to them after an online consultation.

Advantages of Digital Telehealth Services

According to Harvard Health, over 76% of US hospitals are currently using telehealth services to connect their doctors with patients remotely. There are many advantages to using modern technology as a way to give doctors and their patients broader access to each other during times of need. The key advantages include:

• Cost savings. Patients no longer need to travel to receive healthcare for certain conditions and injuries. As doctors’ overhead costs are also reduced by virtual consulting, telehealth consultations can be more cost-effective than in-person appointments for both parties.
• Telehealth consultations are often simpler to fit into busy schedules than consultations. An in-person appointment requires travel, waiting periods, and mobility.
• Healthcare for patients with limited mobility. Telehealth has provided healthcare service access to people with limited mobility, disabilities, or a lack of transport to and from local clinics and doctors’ rooms.
• Reduced risk during pandemics and other major epidemiological events. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the use of telehealth become exponentially more widespread for good reason. Virtual consultations mitigate the risk of cross-infection and may serve as a safer alternative at times.

Disadvantages of Telehealth Services

Like all modern tools and technologies, telehealth can pose some downsides and challenges that are important to bear in mind. These potential disadvantages include:

• An inability for doctors to hold all consultations remotely. Patients may still need to attend in-person consultations for blood work, imaging tests, and more practical diagnostic processes.
• Potential security risks. Patients’ personal health information gets transmitted digitally during telehealth consultations. This puts this data at risk of interception if adequate security measures are not implemented.
• Impartial medical insurance cover. Although many medical insurance providers are beginning to cover the full costs of telehealth consultations, not all carriers will cover all services in full. This could put patients at risk for having to pay medical expenses out of pocket.
• Substandard software engineering. Telehealth platforms that are poorly engineered may provide a substandard healthcare experience to patients. This could create groups of patients who are hesitant to make use of telehealth services in the future, or who may seek out other healthcare providers with better systems in place.

Applications of Telehealth Services

According to The Lancet Global Health, individuals and healthcare systems had to rethink their strategies during the 2020 pandemic and to adopt newer models of care that meet rapidly shifting patient needs. This trend is set to continue into the future as telehealth services become more widely and easily available in new countries and territories.

The applications of digital healthcare services are myriad. Many patients are now sent home with medical devices and instructions on self-management to reduce the loads on physical healthcare facilities. Additionally, some hospitals are even introducing AI bots to facilitate patient monitoring and communications post-consult.

The Lancet notes that the pandemic also led to a rise in computer literacy and technology access on a global scale. These are two traits that are reducing barriers to telehealth and allowing more patients to access quality healthcare remotely.

Telehealth-supporting technologies are even expanding into the categories of wearable devices and smart home systems. Many smart homes can now be equipped with health and environment sensors that are connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) . Medical professionals can use the data produced by these devices to monitor patients remotely. Thereafter, they can send notifications to clinicians and specialists when emergency signs are detected.

The cost of such devices is expected to fall drastically over the coming years as the demand and use of them grows. This is something medical professionals will need to consider when they determine how to calculate profit margin based on the future application and availability of technology in the sector. Additionally, these devices provide a wealth of data that professionals can store and analyze to improve the services they offer and their own diagnostic and treatment skills.

In Summary

Digital telehealth has a wide and growing range of applications across the patient care, diagnostics, and medical treatment sectors. Although it cannot diagnose and treat all medical conditions, it still offers a versatile and convenient way for patients and their doctors to communicate. It does so by eradicating the need for costly travel, waits, delays, or the risk of postponed appointments. It also removes the chances of contamination from other ill patients.

As the cost of telehealth services continues to fall and technology makes these services more accessible to patients, there’s expected to be an increasing shift towards remote healthcare as a norm within the medical industry. Providers can improve digital inclusion and accessibility by ensuring that their telehealth platforms are simple to use and provide affordable care for both individuals and other organizations.