The Dive into Telemedicine compare & contrast essay final draft PDF

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Compare and contrast essay on telemedicine...

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Haileigh Streator Dede Paquette English composition 1 7 Feb. 2021

The Takeoff of Telemedicine vs Traditional Medicine Telemedicine is a rising technology in modern medicine and healthcare, but the idea is not new. Truthfully, when we get sick we many times we call up our healthcare providers and discuss our symptoms through the phone, we dial 911 when there’s an emergency, and so on. Those are just a few examples of implementations of telemedicine. With advancements in medicine, many doctors and healthcare researchers have been searching for new ways to move forwards and transform healthcare with rapidly growing technology. However, the takeoff of telemedicine gets us questioning, is it achieving more than traditional medicine? Is it sustainable? Just like any other inventive technology, telemedicine has the possibility to change the entire healthcare field. However, eliminating traditional medicine may not be the best option. As each medicine technique advances there are barriers faced. Expenses, communication, inoperability, and access. Fine-tuning the system is difficult, still and all drawbacks can be reduced. All of this can be overwhelming but with the awareness of the options available, patients will need to consider the positive and negative impacts of the way medicine is delivered using whatever platform is chosen. The contrasting styles between traditional medicine and telemedicine can affect the quality of care and affectability in healthcare. The digital transformation of healthcare has grown rapidly and can be considered a cultural transformation of traditional healthcare. With telemedicine, patients have access to their care providers from the comfort of their own homes. That may be especially convenient for those with physical disabilities, the elderly, or people in rural, isolated, and underprivileged regions as they have the option of not going to the doctor’s office. It acts as a bridge between the patient and the provider and may increase the delivery of care. The delivery of care may also improve when patients gain more flexibility in scheduling visits. Though you can go to the receptionist’s desk and

schedule a visit directly after a traditional visit, or even call your provider to schedule, you can have the ability to schedule an appointment directly from your computer. That could be beneficial for someone who has trouble communicating over the phone or in person. It is potentially a more convenient way of accessing healthcare. Through telemedicine, a healthcare practice instantly broadens its access with specialists that patients may have once not had a way to see. Telemedicine helps systematize duties on a regional level. Sharing the responsibilities for duties, like specialists, telemedicine can allow a large number of providers from different healthcare organizations to cover large areas, allowing patients to be seen no matter their location. With traditional healthcare, it is a little bit more difficult to be seen or reach a specialist and the distance covered is more limited. “The U.S. spends over $2.9 trillion on healthcare every year, more than any other developed nation. On top of that, an estimated $200 billion of those costs are avoidable, unnecessary spending” (evisit. (n.d.-b)). That amount is expected to increase as the baby boomer generation is reaching old age. As the costs increase, the number of health professionals is continuing to decrease. This is creating a huge gap between available professionals, and the population seeking healthcare and treatment. Which in return, adds to the billions of dollars being spent. With telemedicine, medical organizations can reduce costs because providers are able to see almost twice the amount of patients when travel is no longer a factor. Health care costs following the traditional medicine style also have the ability to be reduced without altering the way we deliver healthcare. By focusing on preventive care, reducing the number of unnecessary tests, controlling prices of prescription drugs, and optimizing and developing staff, traditional medicine has the opportunity to cut costs as well, without changing the way we deliver it. The advantages of telemedicine can also be seen as disadvantages. Medical professionals are trained to use all of their senses and be observant of their surroundings. A provider may even be able to diagnose by a patient's mannerisms. These things may not be able to be seen or detected using telemedicine, skills are hard to implement through a screen. With traditional medicine, a provider is face-to-face with the patient and can use the skills they learned in medical school. The medical professional will have to rely on the patient and their words. Medical screening including blood tests and x-rays can’t be used through the computer, so a patient will still have to come into the

office for aspects of medical care. Face-to-face interactions are also a way for a professional to get to know a patient better. Much of the success in healthcare is related to the provider and the patient’s understanding and the relationship. If the organization is rotating between providers because of a shortage or understaffing, that will be affected. For telemedicine to work effectively, things like this must be addressed and discussed with the patient. With traditional medicine, these are not questions. There are a few legal problems unique to telemedicine. A healthcare provider may not be able to practice medicine over state lines, or a certain distance. “The challenge of cross-state licensure also looms as a major issue. Other policy and operational issues include credentialing and privileging, online prescribing, privacy and security and fraud and abuse. The federal government needs to do more to increase the use of telehealth” (American Hospital Association. (n.d.). Data security is also a question. A patient having a visit from home may not be connected to a secure internet connection or they may be on a public network. With medical information being transmitted and exchanged over a distance hackers have easier access to getting it. Some people may lack technology skills, especially older adults where technology is still new to them. Technological skills will have to be gained to effectively use telemedicine. Technology-specific barriers will have to be evaluated in order to effectively determine telemedicine’s potential. Traditional medicine is practiced a certain way, that the system is based on. There are similar problems using the traditional method following insurance coverage, insurance fraud, and malpractice. Each way of delivering healthcare faces obstacles, yet each delivery system has the means of overcoming these obstacles. By following different approaches and methods as well as effectively implementing them, there are ways around each hindrance. Telemedicine is a valuable tool that patients and healthcare providers can use. Patients can be evaluated and treated wherever they may be. Telemedicine services are often offered at lower costs but at a price. Visits online may not be equal to face-to-face ones, or equally as effective. As diseases and illnesses arise, there is an increasing need and demand for healthcare that continues to rise. As fewer providers are available, it makes it difficult for each method. We have the potential to expand options and the industry but more research needs to be done to determine the most effective way of delivering healthcare and every possibility. There are many barriers

that medicine face, including technological issues, the approach used for examinations, information breaches, cost management, legal complications, distance barriers, and much more. With more investigation and research, healthcare professionals and the general public will be more informed on how each form of healthcare is making an impact in the lives of patients, as well as changing the booming healthcare field. No matter what method a person chooses, the healthcare method should positively impact the quality of care they receive.

Works Cited

American Hospital Association. (n.d.). Fact Sheet: Telehealth | AHA. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https://www.aha.org/factsheet/telehealth evisit. (n.d.-b). What is Telemedicine? Pros of Telemedicine. Haileigh Streator. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https://evisit.com/resources/what-is-telemedicine/)...