The perception of telemedicine has drastically changed over the past few months. It has now evolved from last-minute care to an infrastructure that can fully accommodate an end-to-end care environment.
Although the sudden boom surrounding telemedicine was due to people boxed-in in and unable to move out, but slowly the perception of virtual care has matured and has become a dependable solution for both patients and doctors.
People have realized the benefits of such a platform where they no longer need to run from pillar to post to triage and diagnose normal sickness saving them time and resources at the same time.
It is true that not all diseases can be treated this way, but this infrastructure reduces the waiting lines around the clinics allowing physicians to decisively divert focus upon serious cases.
This also keeps regular infections at bay by restricting the movement of patients thus reducing the ever-growing burden on the healthcare infrastructure. It’s clearly a win-win!
But there is also the question of ‘what future holds for telemedicine?’ Developing nations such as India can definitely use the saved time to help strengthen the rural ecosystem for healthcare. As with growing digital infrastructure, the telemedicine platforms can easily be integrated with help from governments.
This way existing healthcare resources can be diverted to serve a larger base while allowing for the structure to evolve and improve.
Some of the products in the market have unique models that integrate more services such as e-pharmacy and EMR facility making it seamless and effective. While choosing a well-defined setup for telemedicine in these critical times, make sure all your essential needs for healthcare are met.
Stay safe and maintain social distancing. Be healthy.