Is There a Difference between Telemedicine and Telehealth?
Telemedicine offers healthcare using digital devices such as computers, tablets, or smartphones. It is a general term covering all communication between patients and doctors using technology and without being in the same room. It includes phone calls, video chats, emails, and text messages. In most cases, telemedicine uses video conferencing. For example, if the patient has some health complaints, but at the same time, must practice physical distancing or cannot attend a healthcare facility in person, he can make a video appointment with a doctor.
Types of Telemedicine
- Store-and-forward telemedicine
- Telemonitoring
- Real-time telemedicine
Importance and Advantages of Telemedicine
- Receiving high-quality care from home
- No long waiting
- Helping patients with chronic conditions
- Telemedicine is the best solution for mental and emotional health conditions
- Telemedicine is very popular in radiology and psychiatry
- No regular visits to the clinic
- Telemedicine is beneficial for travelers
The Health Resources Services Administration defines Telehealth as “the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical healthcare, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration.” Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.
Goals of Telehealth
- Solving the problem of doctor shortages
- Remote medical education and training
- Patient interaction
- Communicating with providers
Examples of Telehealth
- Patient portal
- Online doctor appointments
- Distant monitoring
Telehealth is different from telemedicine in that it refers to a broader scope of remote health care services than telemedicine. Telemedicine means providing only traditional clinical services, while telehealth can refer to remote non-clinical services. In short, all telemedicine is telehealth, but not all telehealth is telemedicine.
Continue reading to get a full overview of Telemedicine and Telehealth here https://jelvix.com/blog/telemedicine-vs-telehealth
