5 Benefits of Telemedicine

How Telemedicine Helps Physicians

It’s become more easy by the day for physicians to reach clients, and provide care, from anywhere in the country—thanks to telemedicine. When used in tandem with Health Information Technologies (HIT), telemedicine makes it possible for physicians to access health records and use them to help with the treatment or diagnosis of patients on-the-go.

What are the main benefits of Telemedicine?

Easy communication with patients and/or physicians from different cities
Availability of physician coverage to rural areas
Availability of hospital or outpatient visits for patients who can’t leave home
Easy access to continuing medical education via webcam
Access to evening or weekend coverage for patients

This technology will not only change medicine, but also how physicians provide locum tenens coverage. With telemedicine, a physician may provide evening or weekend coverage while still maintaining their full-time practice. Locums physicians may also get the opportunity to provide care to a rural community, yet reside in a more populated area.

For the Full Article From Locum Tenens Daily, Read Below:

As a locums physician, chances are that you use Skype or FaceTime to keep in touch with friends, family, and colleagues while working away from home. Communication technology has come so far, from written letters to text messages and phone calls to video chat. But, what if you were able to use these same technologies to provide locums coverage?

Over the past few years, technological advancements within the healthcare industry, from EMR systems to ambulatory surgery, have allowed physicians to provide better care to patients within the city and in rural communities. However, there is one technology taking the medical field by storm: telemedicine.

Telemedicine allows physicians to communicate with patients and/or physicians via webcam, email, and other virtual mediums. This unique technology brings physician coverage to rural areas and to patients who simply cannot make hospital or outpatient visits. Whether speaking with the patient directly, or working in a partnership with the patient’s primary physician, this program helps physicians provide care to those in need.

Not to be confused with health information technologies (HIT), the process of generating, transmitting, and keeping track of health records, telemedicine is the action of providing clinical services by means of technology. However, HIT can be used to help facilitate the telemedicine process. To be clearer, HIT is where patients’ information and physician notes are marked and saved. Telemedicine uses these records when “meeting” with the patient, or physician, to help with the diagnosis and/or treatment of the patient.

According to the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), the use of telemedicine is not to be considered a specialty. Assessments of patients, as well as billing, will remain the same as that of an in office visit. Although telemedicine is gaining popularity among physicians and facilities, healthcare coverage for these services is still growing. However, there are currently several Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance plans that will cover the use of telemedicine.

Not only for information sharing and patient consults, telemedicine can be used as a way to gain continuing medical education hours. Via the internet and webcam programs, a physician can virtually “sit in” on classes and gain important hours.

This technology will not only change medicine, but also how physicians provide locum tenens coverage. With telemedicine, a physician may provide evening or weekend coverage while still maintaining their full-time practice. Locums physicians may also get the opportunity to provide care to a rural community, yet reside in a more populated area.

To read more about telemedicine, visit the American Telemedicine Association website.