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At first glance, both telehealth and telemedicine seem very similar terms, that however, cannot be any further from the truth. Today the fields of Mobile IT health, digital health and telemedicine are changing so rapidly, that it is hard to settle on one accurate definition for these terms, hence you will see both Telemedicine and Telehealth being used interchangeably. 

Both terms consist of very similar services which include patient monitoring, e-health, medical education, patient consultation etc. If you really want to get to technical with the terms then Telemedicine is a subset of Telehealth. 

Telehealth, on the other hand is much broader term in scope which includes all telecommunication services that offer or engage in health care. Telemedicine refers only to clinical services.

Here’s a definition that could clear your mind on the concept:

Telemedicine refers to traditional clinical diagnosis and screening provided by technology, whereas Telehealth encompasses many different types of diagnosis, management and education. Telehealth concerns itself with many different range of telemedicine services which include both clinical and non-clinical services. 

Telehealth being the more popular term can be found in general health care services, while Telemedicine deals specifically with a clinician that provides a very specific kind of health service.

Examples of Telehealth

• A video conferencing platform for consultation and education
• A health app that alerts people of impending outbreak
• Fit Bits that monitor your pulse and heart rate

Example of Telemedicine

• An app that helps physicians treat their patients remotely via video conferencing
• A software that allows patients to send photos of a rash or a mole that has been bothering them to their doctors.
• An app that schedules appointments with doctors within minutes.

As you can see Telemedicine is simply a small part of telehealth. Telemedicine has become even more popular and is being widely consumed thanks to the recent COVID-19 outbreak. If anything, it has proved its worth in times of emergency and will gain further validity once the pandemic is defeated.

DENmaar’sTeleHealth Services

At DENmaar, our telehealth solution offers both patients and providers with a communication technology that allows the access and management of health care services from homes of patients or the practices of doctors.  This tele-conferencing feature allows practitioners to attend to their patients, on their computer screens, where-in they can consult and serve their clients without having to make them wait in their clinics or making them transit long distances. 

All you have to do to access our feature, whether you are a provider or patient, is to sign up to our app and avail our telepsych feature.

We all want our healthcare to be both effective in its treatment and affordable in its cost. When telehealth is implemented efficiently, both of the above aspects become easier to achieve. We can see improvements in patient satisfaction as well as management of healthcare amidst your own organization.

An advance in communication technology is only making things better for the telehealth industry. Smartphones today are faster and actually smart. Stronger internet connections are ensuring care is rendered uninterrupted. Today, telehealth is so much more than simply calling up your nurse to explain your symptoms.

In this article, we will look at Tele-nursing, its pros, and its cons. So without much further ado, let’s jump right into the meat of this article.

Pros and Cons of Tele-Nursing

Better management of Chronic Conditions

RPM aka Remote patient monitoring has replaced traditional clinical visits today to manage chronic conditions like diabetes and COPD. In RPM there’s less fragmentation of care when a patient lapses with their responsibilities. With fewer contact, there are less clinical visits and readmissions. In one study, participants of the ‘behavioral health intervention telehealth program’ experienced less hospital admissions than the patients who did not participate. 

Increased Access to Care

Patients who live in rural areas are the most significant beneficiaries of telehealth. Rural areas have always received the harsh end of a stick when it came to accessing to health care. Tele-health changed all of that. Now, rural areas, thanks to the strong internet connection and better smartphones have access to healthcare.

Avoid Risk

In the context of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, Telehealth provides a great opportunity for doctors to still consult their patients via videoconferencing while adhering to the mandatory discipline of social distancing.

Save Time

With telehealth, patients don’t have to travel long distances to meet their doctors. They don’t have to wait in long lines as well. Tele-health saves time which is precious to both doctors and patients.

Cons

Some Visits are Necessary

Although telehealth is crucial in providing convenient health care to patients, it still cannot make up for physical consultation which is necessary for most situations. Doctors cannot feel your stomach through telehealth, they cannot swab your throat, or listen discerningly to your lungs or heartbeat.

Licensing issues

Licensing issues restrict nurses from providing health care to patients that do not fall in their state. Nurses can only practice and provide care in the states that permit them to practice health care.

Reimbursement

Insurance coverage for telehealth services is still shoddy and needs a lot of work. Only 21 states today require private insurers to cover telehealth services. Medicaid programs vary from state to state in paying for services offered by nurses through telehealth.

DENmaar’s TeleHealth Services

At DENmaar, our telehealth solution offers both patients and providers with a communication technology that allows the access and management of health care services from homes of patients or the practices of doctors.  This teleconferencing feature allows practitioners to attend to their patients, on their computer screens, where-in they can consult and serve their clients without having to make them wait in their clinics or making them transit long distances.

Cigna has finally launched its own Telehealth services to offer its 12 million members access to primary health care services. The insurer has partnered with Florida based Telehealth service provider MDlIVE to bring its services to their insurers. 

This isn’t the first time MDlIVE has partnered with an insurance company, Humana and Blue Cross Blue Shield, came before Cigna. They have however, partnered with Cigna before to provide urgent care through their Telehealth services.

The move has pushed Cigna into a newly popular arena of advanced healthcare technology. Amazon and Walmart are also rumored to be bringing in their own telehealth services in the market. The telehealth service means to improve access to rural areas for better healthcare, and provide specialty care without any hassle. If recent stats are anything to go by, then the younger generation are already ignoring traditional methods of physical consultations and opting for such online services instead.

What is Telehealth technology?

Telehealth provides patients with the tool to consult with their doctors from the comfort of their respective abodes. It allows for face to face communication without compromising on the concept of physical distancing. Videoconferencing, Fit bits, Apple watches are all examples of telehealth technology

The Benefits of Telehealth include:

• •     Making Healthcare accessible for rural and isolated communities.
• •     Access to behavioral and other medical specialists
• •     Making services available for communities and people with limited mobility, or transportation options
• •     Improved communication between doctors and patients
• •     Improved self-management of health care practice

For many traditional health care professionals, Tele-health is still an uncharted territory. Venturing into something this unknown to them can seem intimidating. However, most Tele Health services today are easy to use and can be implemented with only minor level training.

DENmaar’s TeleHealth Services

At DENmaar, our telehealth solution offers both patients and providers with a communication technology that allows the access and management of health care services from homes of patients or the practices of doctors.  This tele-conferencing feature allows practitioners to attend to their patients, on their computer screens, where-in they can consult and serve their clients without having to make them wait in their clinics or making them transit long distances. 

All you have to do to access our feature, whether you are a provider or patient, is to sign up to our app and avail our telepsych feature.