The impact of advanced technology in medical science and healthcare has been noticeable for decades. But systems like remote healthcare and Telehealth have been possible now and have been providing excellent benefits to any health organization utilizing them. The covid-19 pandemic had further boosted the rise of telemedicine technologies and other remote monitoring possibilities. The healthcare systems in several medical facilities and healthcare organizations have changed a lot after the pandemic started. The hospitals and other healthcare institutions faced immense pressure to provide care to patients much more than they can accommodate.

Previously there were not any crucial funding or rigid license regulations from the governments in the sector of Telehealth and Telemedicine, but that has changed to some extent due to the covid-19 pandemic effects. But the adaptation and support for telemedicine technologies have not been found to be well distributed in the healthcare industry. There still remain various health organizations that are not using the benefits of telemedicine and relying on the same conventional system of patient admission and treatment. The developments which are happening in the telemedicine sector won’t be that beneficial for the patient experience if it’s not correctly utilized by the majority of healthcare facilities. Many reputed healthcare IT organizations are involved in constant research and developments to provide more advanced telemedicine and remote treatment options to medical professionals.

Many experts of the healthcare industry have a varying notion that telemedicine facilities which are available are not highly efficient and still need sufficient integration of platforms and technological analysis. Some healthcare IT vendors are working on multiple applications and software platform integration to provide perfect healthcare solutions. The telemedicine structure has slow progress but has been rising beyond the video conferencing facilities. The covid-19 pandemic has also affected the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals which has often resulted in a shortage of medical staff leading to excessive stress on the minimum staff who are not affected by the virus.

The telemedicine structure has made remote treatment possible. Even when the doctors are in isolation they can provide expert guidance through interacting with the patients remotely and analysing the vitals which is available through the use of advanced digital technology. There are several diseases in the world which are having the features of being cured with a very minimum requirement of visits to the hospital. These types of diseases can be treated by the application of modern telemedicine facilities and hence reducing the hospital patient’s load. The telemedicine opportunity also allows the patients the comfort of being treated from home and having the support of family members all the time. Experts also suggest that the role of telemedicine will also be noticed in group sessions to provide counsel and support to patients.

Virtual care infrastructure and the use of integrated digital platform in advanced telemedicine 

The reimbursement processes which have been temporarily implemented by the government have boosted the growth of telehealth throughout the pandemic. According to widespread statistics, the usage of telehealth policies has increased by thirty-eight percent in comparison to the healthcare structure before the covid-19 pandemic. The virtual care infrastructure has mostly benefited the healthcare needs of senior citizens and other comorbidity induced patients who have a high risk of getting attacked by covid multiple times.

The in-person visits are thus being reduced and patients are receiving a more safe treatment through the format of remote patient monitoring(RPM) and other virtual care techniques. Experts predict the governments would maintain their support for telemedicine facilities and remote treatments even after the pandemic declines. The telemedicine process empowers the treatment process with various software applications and gadgets which lets the patients maintain strong virtual contact with their doctors. This makes way for better diagnosis and much deep analysis of the day to day patient vitals.

The real-time data that gets constantly monitored through the telemedicine possibilities and modern healthcare IT gadgets are highly beneficial for doctors. This data helps in reshaping the treatment into a more personalized approach that increases the chances of total cure in much less time of switching medicines and tests. There have been many wearable healthcare IT gadgets that find their superior use in virtual care and advanced telemedicine treatment. The patient vitals are much simpler to monitor through these gadgets and any type of abnormal changes in the vitals reaches the doctors with urgent notifications.

But as these gadgets are prepared with the most advanced form of technology the cost is big which cannot be easily managed by small scale hospitals and medical facilities. If these costs are reduced by some subsidization model by the healthcare sector of governments then the health plan structures can have a ‘return on investment’ policy. Telemedicine has been more beneficial for remote areas and counties as they face long-distance travelling problems and the frequent travel cost also becomes a burden. The underserved communities can also get benefits from advanced telemedicine through the community broadband models available in 2022.                   

  The other technological benefits which come with telemedicine

    Telemedicine facilities have elongated the service of healthcare systems and broke the restraints of geographical area accessibility. Telemedicine has also proven to be cost-effective for patients getting long term treatment. The diagnosis of any disease has been made more rigid and accurate due to the availability of modern digital healthcare equipment that works in integration with telemedicine. The opportunities which the sector of telemedicine has provided to the hospitals and healthcare facilities can change the complete healthcare system.

The positive impact of telemedicine can make the healthcare infrastructure function more efficiently and provide an enhanced patient experience through the combination of in-person treatment and telemedicine for remote care. The power of telemedicine allows the doctors to talk with the family members and the patient at the same time without the need for them to visit the hospital in an ideal time frame priorly selected. Telemedicine also allows bringing in other medical professionals into the same consultation if found necessary by the doctors. In many regions, people prefer to first consult a general practitioner and this format of treatment often progresses into referral at a conventional hospital infrastructure. The referred patient will have the opportunity of better treatment if the hospital doctors can indulge in a medical conversation with the general practitioner who first provided the basic diagnosis and medical aid.

 The telemedicine facility can also make the general practitioner continue treatment by getting consultation from the specialized doctors of the specific area of disease or injury. This yields extra benefits when there arises difficulty in patient transportation in a short period. There can be many difficult scenarios in which immediate telemedicine consultation can save a patient from deteriorating into further critical conditions where hospitalization becomes necessary. There have already been practical telemedicine applications in medical sectors like cardiology, orthopaedics, psychiatry and also ophthalmology.

 Telemedicine also works as an excellent medium of analysing lab test reports which directly eliminates the need to visit the hospital. The routine checkups and medicinal side effect scrutiny are also possible to be carried out through the telemedicine possibilities. The telehealth and telemedicine systems provide the doctors with such an integrated digital platform that every single detail including the previous prescription and health records can be accessed in a single application window.

Telemedicine for chronically ill patients and the possibility of advancement in 2022

For patients with cancer, telemedicine can prove to be more effective and there has been evidence of a better treatment experience. The long term treatment of cancer not only has a high budget but also takes a toll on the mental health of the patient. Partly being treated from the comfort of the patient’s own home along with the family members can help a lot in maintaining discipline throughout the treatment. This type of chronically ill-patients does require daily checkups on their body vitals along with proper analysis of the new symptoms and effects of the treatment.

 This can be possible remotely through the remote monitoring procedures and use of other healthcare IT gadgets. Many healthcare organizations are experimenting with the treatment models and are channelling the use of telemedicine opportunities wherever possible. This kind of acceptance and deliberate use of telemedicine can help in the advancements and better structural availability of telemedicine in the future.

   Some of the modern healthcare IT technologies use sophisticated technological advancements like artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies have extraordinary capabilities and can even complete several human tasks in much less time. The use of artificial intelligence has been specifically adapted by various healthcare organizations to provide a better healthcare experience and much easier formalities that the family members or caregivers complete. The data handling and smart organizing capabilities of AI and ML make them one of a kind technologies.

The proper setup of patients’ data suffering from the same chronic disease can lead to excellent research opportunities and certain breakthroughs. There are several digital software platforms as well which are being used by several healthcare organizations for making doctors easily switch between video conferences between different patients while the AI takes care of the digital prescription and data input. There is further research happening by various healthcare organizations that also have a research division composed of scientists, doctors and other medical professionals who can develop the existing systems of telemedicine.

Endnotes on the future of telemedicine            

Many experts in the telemedicine sector suggest that a lot depends on government reimbursements in deciding the future of telemedicine. There have been various limitations identified by medical professionals in telemedicine that can only be removed by substantial research dedicated to telemedicine infrastructure. Many healthcare equipment and gadgets which had struggled in its introduction phase have made their mark later on in the advanced medical treatments.

The same can be expected from the telemedicine systems but certainly, it would take time due to the slow progress. The giant companies of the healthcare IT industry and the largest healthcare organizations in the global platform should be promoting the use of telemedicine technologies and demonstrate their benefits of it. The whole medical platform of the world is not aware of the telemedicine possibilities yet, so sufficient education programs throughout the healthcare organizations forum can take telemedicine much further.