During this COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing is one of the main measures that ensure safety from this virus as well as helps in fighting the virus itself. Many other safety measures include washing hands for 20 seconds, covering your mouth while sneezing, and many more. But the problem that arises here is that how come the ill patients would be treated like all the medical regular services are being shut down due to social distancing? The simple solution to such a question is telehealth. It is a type of technology that is safe, efficient, and allows effective communication between you and your doctors through your tablets or mobile phones. The World Health Organization introduced a recent policy stating that telemedicine should be the best alternative for clinical services and decision supports providing online clinical facilities to US citizens.
In the time of COVID-19, telehealth can be the best solution for the patients suffering from coronavirus who do not need to interact with the severe cases patients of the COVID-19. It is observed that one out of four physicians working in the front line in the hospitals is older than 50 years. Increasing the risk of getting infected by the virus while performing the duty. Telehealth can help to minimize the risk of professionals getting the infection by overall minimizing the time of or complete interaction between the patients and the doctor. Telehealth in the COVID-19 will help in flattening the curve of Coronavirus and will also contribute to a healthier and safe society. Let’s discuss how Telehealth is implemented during COVID-19 and how it contributes to the decrease in death rates all over the US.
How the curve will be flattened?
Telehealth can directly be an effective measure in flattening the curve of COVID-19. It was observed that some of the COVID-19 patients in the US recovered fast and efficiently through the use of telehealth. The reason behind such an observation was, the patients with mild cases who did not need to be admitted in an isolation ward at a hospital or some who were either self-isolated or home isolated getting self and distance monitoring and the patients who required follow-ups after their discharge from the hospital were treated by professional medical staff through the telehealth that decreased the face to face interaction as well as contact between the patients and the doctors, hence, gradually decreasing the curve.
Telehealth announcement in the US
The US recently announced this facility for its citizens for the duration of COVID-19. This service connects the patients to essential healthcare services either through video conferencing, remote monitoring, electronic consultants, or wireless communication by just sitting at your home isolated without spreading or getting the virus and gaining the best treatments and doctors just a single click away. The e-schedule will eliminate the waiting time for the medical specialists and since the service is highly secure and allows the doctors to access your previous medical conditions, this step will help in treating your current illness as well as will help the doctors in getting a better idea about how to cure you by just looking at your previous medical conditions if there are any available. Telehealth by US officials is already being recognized as one of the best solutions to any epidemic condition.
Implementation of Telehealth
US is one of the leading countries among Israel, UK, Nordics, and France who have mature telehealth providers and their combined efforts are helping these countries to fight off the battle with COVID-19. Telehealth can combine several medical institutions into a single virtual network that is led by a single central clinic that means all the doctors, all the medical staff available to you 24/7 through a single app. It can be accessed from remote areas and even with limitations such as transportation and staying in rural areas.
For what type of users is this service available in the US during COVID-19
All the users who need medical attention can use this service in the US. State and areas are not a concern as it is available for the complete state. You can use any device either computers, smartphones, laptops anything that can be connected to the internet is required. You can participate in video and audio-conferencing sessions, live COVID-19 safety measure sessions, and exchange of information. Results of tests and other physical examinations performed at your home like blood sugar levels, blood pressure can be stored for remote 24/7 monitoring and the ECG, MRT, CT scan and such type of results can also be stored but needs to be performed near your local lab that can be easily scheduled through telehealth services.