- Telemedicine
Telemedicine refers to a diverse concept that entails the utilization of telecommunication media for the transfer of medical information. Telemedicine can be categorised on the basis of the type of type of information exchanged between patients and the interaction between these two parties. Telemedicine has its merits and demerits. The merits include: research has shown that telemedicine is an adequate tool for follow up visits in up to 99% of the cases. Follow up done through telemedicine is cheaper than face to face clinical visits which is particularly beneficial. Given the ease with which patients can currently access the internet, it is possible for a patient in the most remote part of the world to access treatment. The implementation of telemedicine is dependent on the availability of the telecommunication equipment which may not always be available especially in government funded hospitals which often have to keep up with a lot of needs.
- Provider-to-patient e-mail
This refers to computer based communication in form of electronic mail between a patient and healthcare provider on a professional basis. Some of the applications of provider to patient emails include: scheduling of appointments, education of patients, refilling of prescriptions and communication of laboratory results. Emails are an efficient means of communication which can save a lot of time that would have been spent making phone calls or attending to follow up patients. They are private and allow both the sender and recipient to engage in discussion that is strictly between the two of them. It is also fast regardless of the distance involved hence the patient waiting for his results can get them as soon as they are ready. An email between a patient and a provider is a permanent record of the conversation that took place hence allowing the patient and health provider to refer to the decisions that were made in the past. It is also cost efficient unlike a telephone call or physical visit.
The demerits of provider to patient emails include: an email may be intercepted hence the intended message can reach the wrong recipient. It is difficult to establish the identity of the person sending the email or the one receiving it hence posing a security risk. An email from a health care provider can be misinterpreted due to lack of verbal and non verbal cues. The implementation of provider to patient email requires secure internet technology along with adequate training of staff on the use of this application. In hospitals with many workers, this may prove to be a hindrance given that the hospital it is costly to equip all work stations with computers and avail internet.
- E-visits
This refers to interaction between the patient and the healthcare provider via an internet portal. The patient logs into their personal health record portal and fill in information about their health condition. This information is sent to the health care professional who provide a diagnosis based on the symptoms provided. The advantages of e-visits include: it is cost effective since there is no need for the patient to travel to the hospital. It is also efficient given that the health care provider spends less time with patient hence can attend to several patients at a go. The challenges with e-visits relate to quality of health care. There is a danger of making a wrong diagnosis given that the doctor does not meet with the patient face to face. This is particularly a concern given that some conditions require tests in order to distinguish them from other conditions. There is also the danger of overprescribing antibiotics. A face to face also allows the health provider to gain the confidence of the patient and also assess whether the patient has been following taking his or her prescription. This is not possible in the case of an e-visit.
References
Bashhur, R. (2006 ). Introduction to telemedicine. London : Royal Society of Medicine Press.
Burrington-Brown, & Hughes, G. (2006 , June 23). "AHIMA Practice Brief: Provider-Patient E-mail Security" . Retrieved November 29, 2012, from Ahima : www. ahima. org.
Mehrotra, A., Paone, S., Martrich, D., & Albert, S. (2012). A Comparison of Care at E-visits and Physician Office Visits for Sinusitis and Urinary Tract Infection. Archives on Internal Medicine , 305 .
