Monideepa Banerjee
Aug 17, 20202 min
Updated: Aug 18, 2020
In the Era of smart devices, everything is available at our fingertips. We can book a cab or motorbike ride, order food and book a movie ticket as well. Day by day, the technology is becoming an integral part of our life. As time passes we’re lucky enough to fix an appointment with doctors from a particular app. But as the science is constantly evolving, technology is touching the new horizons with their new inventions. Those inventions are making our life much more easier.
There are three basic necessities of humans. Food, Shelter and clothes. There is a proverb saying- “Just because you’re not sick doesn’t mean you’re healthy.” We need to take care of our body. As we’ve the “Right to Live” as a fundamental right, which means maintaining health falls under one roof.
The one of the latest edition of the medical sciences is Telemedicine. The definition of telemedicine as follows-
A tool that makes healthcare more accessible, cost-effective, and that increases patient engagement – is telemedicine. Since making its debut in the late 1950’s, advances in telemedicine has contributed to seniors having the choice to age in place. In addition, the patients that reside in rural areas that previously had difficulties accessing a physician, can now reach them virtually.
In simple words- Physicians and patients can share information in real-time from one computer screen to another. And they can even see and capture readings from medical devices at a faraway location. Using telemedicine software, patients can see a doctor for diagnosis and treatment without having to wait for an appointment. Patients can consult a physician at the comfort of their home.
Isn’t it fascinating? Now with the help of technology, the same can be done from smartphones as well.
So now the question arises, why we need telemedicine?
It saves time. One can easily access while sitting in the comfort of home.
A person with a serious illness can easily access without any assistance. For example, a person suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or motor neurone disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease (it is a disease that causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles), can easily book without the help of others.
It saves live. Setting-up with proper infrastructure the doctors, nurses, hospitals can be tied up together which in return can help to save the patient’s life.
Real-time tracking is another interesting factor of Telemedicine. One can easily track about the nearest hospital, its crew of doctors, etc. So, no time is being wasted. In case of emergency, a single second does matter.
We all know, how the technology is flying in new colours.
“A burnt child dreads the fire”.
An anxious member of the family knows how it feels like when your loved ones are fighting with death. So, with the help of telemedicine, we cannot promise that the patient will be saved. But with proper infrastructure, we can definitely make a difference in death rate regarding the negligent or poor medical treatment.