Telehealth is the provision of healthcare services through telecommunication technologies. An example of telehealth present in the healthcare system is people employing smartphones to manage health. Since most Americans own smartphones, they use them for health-related purposes, such as setting appointment reminders. They also install mHealth applications, such as smoking cessation apps. Mobile phones, tablets, laptops and any other devices with webcams facilitate videoconferencing between healthcare providers and recipients, which is known as synchronous medicine (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020). Another example of telehealth is the utilization of electronic health records (EHR). EHR simplifies the process of recording, storing, and retrieving patient information. Telecommunication technologies have also made it possible for providers to share imaging or lab results to be analyzed at a future date, which is referred to store-and-forward (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020). Overall, telehealth has penetrated the American healthcare system, especially in recent years.
The widespread adoption of telehealth will increase access to healthcare and patient safety. More people can access healthcare services and facilities using telecommunication technologies. For example, some patients forfeit medical intervention because hospitals are far from their homes. However, with telehealth, distance is not a factor in provision of care. Healthcare is also more affordable under telehealth because it minimizes certain administration costs (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020). For instance, specialists do not need to assemble in one hospital to collaborate. Besides increasing coverage, telehealth also improves patient safety. When the coronavirus pandemic began last year, telehealth was embraced as the solution to reducing the risk of spreading the virus by minimizing in-person contact (Monaghesh & Hajizadeh, 2020). Additionally, electronic health records improve the efficiency of treatment since they provide a readily-available access to accurate patient information. The healthcare system should continue to adopt telehealth because it is the future of medicine.
Reference
Monaghesh, E., & Hajizadeh, A. (2020). The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: A systematic review based on current evidence. BMC Public Health, 20(1193), 1-9. Web.