Remember the Jetsons? Created over 60 years ago, the Jetsons cartoons predicted many futuristic technologies—including video telehealth. While the Jetsons may have first envisioned talking to your doctor on a digital screen, the COVID-19 pandemic propelled telehealth into our modern lives. Now, as we watch COVID shrink in the rearview mirror, do the advantages of telehealth still hold up?
Absolutely.
Telehealth Offers Convenience
- Reduced Time Off Work: With telehealth appointments, you can reclaim your time. No more navigating through traffic, hunting for a parking spot, and enduring a stuffy waiting room. This time-saving aspect of telehealth empowers you to manage your health without the added stress of time constraints.
- Access for Remote Areas: Telehealth is especially advantageous for patients in remote areas, who would normally have to travel long distances to the nearest walk-in clinic or medical center.
- On-Demand Appointments: Patients can often see a virtual doctor on-demand instead of waiting weeks for an appointment, increasing access to care.
Telehealth Contributes to Better Health Outcomes
- Preventing Delays in Care: Telehealth helps to avoid delays in care. Delays in care increase the risk of dying, so an online doctor is in a unique position to help. In 2007, the journal Health Services Research reported a study in which patients who had to wait less than 31 days for a doctor’s appointment had a better chance of survival and recovery than patients who had to wait 31 or more days. With telehealth, the wait is often just minutes.
- Higher Appointment Attendance: When appointments are easy to get to, patients are more likely to show up to them.
- Reduced Exposure to Illnesses: During the cold and flu season, patients can avoid going to clinics and being exposed to viruses and other germs.
- Access to Specialists: Telehealth can more easily connect patients with experts from various sub-specialties who would normally be difficult to reach.
Telehealth Lowers Costs for Patients
- Lower Consultation Costs: Generally, the cost of seeing a doctor virtually is lower than the cost of an in-person doctor’s visit at a brick-and-mortar clinic or urgent care.
- No Travel Costs: Telehealth eliminates the costs of traveling to a physical location. For patients dealing with chronic conditions, this can make a significant difference.
Where Can I Receive Telehealth Care?
QuickMD provides telehealth services that are readily accessible to all, regardless of insurance coverage. This means you can swiftly connect with physicians, no matter where you are, offering a sense of relief and reassurance about your healthcare options.
