Telemedicine has emerged to increase the supply of health services in situations where patients and medical professionals are in different places. With this technology, it is possible to make consultations and report exams from a distance. It is also useful for the exchange of information between doctors and speeds up diagnoses since exams can be sent to specialists located anywhere. We, Reliefseeker.com have gathered in this article some of the main benefits of adopting a telemedicine system in health clinics
The benefits of telemedicine are many, both for healthcare professionals and patients. Today, telemedicine is part of a broader concept, known worldwide as eHealth or “digital health”. According to HIMSS – Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, eHealth is any internet application, used in conjunction with other information technologies, focused on providing better conditions for clinical processes, patient treatment, and better health care cost conditions.
In addition, the benefits of telemedicine also include the optimization of time and the reduction of operating costs, such as the purchase of paper, printing of reports, and logistical expenses. It can be applied in medical clinics of different sizes and specialties, in addition to units focused on occupational medicine.
The main advantages of telemedicine
In the first analysis, a large investment of software and equipment may seem necessary for the adoption of the remote report. However, adapting your clinic to telemedicine is not a complicated process. If the clinic already invests in computerization, it is possible to adapt the existing equipment and soon start to take advantage of telemedicine. Below, we list five of the main ones:
Time optimization
Patient data and test results are available on the web, protected so that only professionals and the patient can view them. In this way, the doctor and his collaborators are able to access the content quickly and from any location. The file is received instantly by the telemedicine company’s central office.
If these results were sent by post, the waiting time would be days or even weeks. In addition, the reports are available 24 hours a day in the cloud, a type of online sharing that allows you to access, save and edit files remotely. There is a significant improvement in the organization to find files and make the duplicate of reports. With the web version, it is also possible to search and consult information much more quickly, optimizing the time of health professionals.
Increased service capacity
The advantages of telemedicine also appear in increasing the agility of the processes. It is possible that the reports are sent and are available on the web for different teams and professionals.
The time for results to be delivered is also shorter since a telemedicine company has full-time support available. In other words, the entrepreneur who hires a company to issue medical reports online “hires” employees at a distance.
Greater security
One of the biggest advantages of telemedicine and remote reports is the safety of operations. This is done through software or a website that has a login and password in a secure environment, with security certification and content encryption.
Physical documents are easily lost or forgotten, but by storing reports in the cloud, the risk of loss or damage to documents is drastically reduced.
Lower costs
To carry out and issue exam reports without an online system, a clinic needs to invest in infrastructure, logistics and staff. However, if the documentation center is located outside the clinic, it is possible to reduce costs considerably. Professionals can use tablets, computers, and smartphones to analyze exams, eliminating the use of workstations for analysis. It is not necessary to maintain a full-time clinical staff. The clinics only pay for the reports issued, according to the demand of patients and exams of the day.
In the issue of reports on the site, a large structure is necessary to store all physical reports and not mix the results of each patient, not counting the high printing costs. This saves space in the office and costs for printing and storage.
Technological investment is offset by the efficiency and resource savings that are generated in the medium and long term. A good company specialized in medical records and electronic reports can guarantee the smooth functioning and security of the system and guarantee all the advantages of telemedicine.
Faster treatment
Online reports are made extremely quickly and sent to the patient, who can make an appointment with your specialist.
If the medical report was slow to be released, the treatment would also take time. When the clinical situation is highly complex, the different teams can debate the results and reach a conclusion quickly. Thus, online reports are advantageous, since they are issued more quickly.
Technology has evolved a lot, and nowadays, it is possible to streamline different processes and avoid unnecessary displacement of the patient between different clinics and laboratories with the help of an effective system.
