A Wakeup Call: Telemedicine In Healthcare

Healthcare providers are implementing telemedicine solutions to improve the quality of care, expand clinician access to colleagues and patients, and more efficiently allocate resources. The quantum of telemedicine in healthcare is accelerating at breakneck speed.

And it’s no surprise; telemedicine holds great potential for reducing the variability of diagnoses as well as improving clinical management and delivery of health care services worldwide by enhancing access, quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

The definition and scope of telemedicine solutions remain fluid and can be classified into two basic types, according to the timing of the information transmitted and the interaction between the individuals involved—be it health professional-to-health professional or health professional-to-patient. We can segregate it like:

a. Store-and-forward telemedicine that involves the exchange of pre-recorded data between two or more individuals at different times.

b. In contrast, real time, or synchronous, telemedicine requires the involved individuals to be simultaneously present for immediate exchange of information, as in the case of videoconferencing.

In both the cases, store and forward as well as real-time the form of information that can be transferred can include a variety of media such as text, audio, video, files etc.

Now let’s dive in to see the most valuable features a telemedicine platform must possess.

The Important Features A Telemedicine Platform Must Include:

1. Store-and-forward telemedicine

It involves acquiring medical data (like medical images, biosignals etc.) and then transmitting this data to a doctor or medical specialist at a convenient time for assessment offline without any drop in resolution.

2. Remote Monitoring

Remote Monitoring enables medical professionals to monitor a patient remotely using various technological devices. It is primarily used for managing chronic diseases or specific conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes mellitus, or asthma.

3. Online Scheduling

Patients can view and schedule your available appointments.

4. EMR Integration

Integrate patient’s histories & records with EMR’s to make seamless remote visits and to give an ability to send clinical documentation to/from your EMR.

5. Secure Messaging

By adopting a secure messaging system for healthcare allows your team to respond to more patients, faster and better. Also it gives them the ability to coordinate with patients and other clinicians to provide prompt service to clients.

6. High Definition Video Consultations

It is vital to have HD video calling and conferencing possible to eliminate the need to transfer a patient that needs specialized ongoing care.

7. Integrated Billing

An integrated medical billing system opens the gateway for reporting in many areas such as access to more information, health service providers can determine which procedures are losing money consistently, and make strides towards closing any financial gaps. If patients are canceling consistently on a particular day or doctor, and the clinic is taking the monetary hit, that data will be evident via the system.

8. HIPPA Compliant

All information shared and stored should be fully encrypted as per HIPAA requirements. As well as it should give clinicians an ability to communicate through HIPPA-compliant messaging and video calls.

The goal of a telemedicine network is to support and improve medical decision making. And having this array of features in your app can help you create a telemedicine app in its broadest way.

For any query regarding healthcare and telemedicine app requirements you may contact us, we have hands on experience in developing a gamut of telehealth and telemedicine apps.

Related post: Telemedicine App Development Cost and Key Features