Category Archives: Telemedicine

The need for telemedicine in the urban setting is greater than ever. The United States in particular has too few primary care physicians to meet the needs of the population and, more people are faced with a lack of time, transportation, or resources to spend a day at the doctor’s office. With the use of telemedicine, more of the people that need medical care can access it.

Consider the Lack of Providers

Some surveys have found that nearly 80 percent of adults visit emergency rooms because they do not have another provider to turn to and 48 percent go because their doctor is not available. This lack of access to doctors limits a person’s ability to get care. But it is not the only reason that telemedicine can change the overall well being of patients.

How Telemedicine Changes Urban Care

With the use of telemedicine, it becomes possible to reach a larger group of people in a more practical way. The same doctor can treat numerous patients in a far more streamlined manner without having to have patients come in. Imagine, for example, a single mother who has a child that has an ear infection. She is forced to miss work, and therefore pay, to visit a doctor’s office when she already likely knows that the child is ill, knows what the child needs, and doesn’t need an extensive testing.

Nevertheless, there are many struggles to establishing telemedicine in today’s urban setting. It may not meet the requirements, for example, of Medicare or Medicaid. In some cases, there is the need for physicians to have licensing updates to provide further coverage beyond traditional state borders. And, communication infrastructure needs to be updated to ensure a lack of resources does not limit Internet connectivity for these patients.

However, when proper structures are in place, individuals can thrive using telemedicine over other types of treatment options ultimately saving government-sponsored health programs money and improving overall quality of life for those in need.

Technology that can supposedly monitor someone’s heart rate is nothing new. People in the health and fitness community have been using it for decades now. However, many of these heart rate monitors have been notoriously unreliable. Advances in telemedicine may now be giving people heart rate monitoring equipment that will give them much more accurate results.

The AliveCor Mobile Heart Monitoring Using Medical-grade Electrocardiogram (ECG) Kardia Band for Apple Watch may change telemedicine forever. This EKG band distinguishes itself by actually being medical grade, so it’s capable of giving people results that are reliable. The associated Apple Watch application interprets the data that the sensors in the device receive.

Using the Apple Watch application, people can send their doctors EKG readings and accompanying voice memos, so their doctors can get a sense of the functioning of their patients’ hearts throughout the day. In conjunction with other health monitoring applications, people can more or less keep track of their well-being by the minute with a device like the AliveCor Mobile Heart Monitoring Using Medical-grade Electrocardiogram (ECG) Kardia Band for Apple Watch.

This product is aimed at people who have heart conditions or people who are at risk for heart conditions. Even a few seconds can matter when it comes to heart conditions, and doctors that are receiving information about the state of someone’s heart by the second are going to be much better equipped to deal with the situation. However, given that this is technically a mainstream product, almost anyone who was actually interested in health monitoring would be able to benefit from a device like this one.

Devices like this are making it easier and easier for doctors to operate remotely. Patients don’t actually have to go in for tests that will assess their heart health if they have access to devices like this. They can give doctors a sense of their health all the time, and not just during their annual physicals or during routine tests.

In the past, telemedicine programs in the USA were mainly located only in rural areas that lack medical facilities or clinics. Over the last several years, that trend has slowly begun to change, now, here in the US and Worldwide, the use of telemedicine is expected to grow by more than 10 times from 2013 to 2018. Telemedicine program apps like Figure1 are dramatically changing how people are treated in the most under resourced parts of the world. Figure1 is a Telemedicine apps that helps doctors treat people in remote locations by employing technology. Figure1, which is informally known as the Instagram for doctors, became a go-to option for health workers in under served areas. Figure1 boasts over 50 percent 1 million users, including doctors, nurses, along side some other medical professionals.

Dr. Rogy Masri is a practicing doctor in a settlement in North Lebanon. His medical team treats Syrian refugees primarily, those who have flooded into Lebanon region together with some other neighboring countries to escape escalating violence. His job for the faint of heart, regularly medications are in scarce supply, electricity cuts out on a regular basis, and people are susceptible to a host of horrible diseases including lice and rat bites to sexually transmitted infections. Masri, who is a Doctors Without Borders volunteer, must make do with limited medical equipment and tools. When a patient walks in with a common ailment, his team could often send them away with treatment, but unfortunately that’s not always the case.

In an recent Fast Company interview Masri explained that he examined a refugee that walk to the clinic having an extremely Red leather legion the size of a quarter on his arm. This patient did not respond to normal course of antibiotics. Masri, who isn’t a Dermatologist but trade and it has very little experience with exotic skin illnesses, he was stumped. He took out his smartphone and snapped a photo to record and share the legion, he submitted to a software called Figure1. He noted in the photo that the patient was a 52 year old male Syrian refugees having an infection which was treated for a year.

The outcome biopsy were still pending. On that particularly day, Dimas Yusuf, an interior medication resident at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, happened to come across the photo. He’d a little of free time between modifications, and I decided to play medical detective. For Masri, a smartphone became an essential tool for fieldwork. Although it needs a second opinion, programs like Figure1 and individuals produced by Doctors Without Borders connect him with medical professionals across the world on the real time basis. The disadvantage is that on-line sites and electricity aren’t always reliable.

Despite the possibilities, general usage of telemedicine stays low among physicians. Less than 1% of physicians accounted for 22 percent of telemedicine visits in 2014, according to MedPAC. Only two percent of people had participated in a telemedicine consult, and just 69,000 people used telemedicine in 2014. Among public and private entities, the Department of Veterans Affairs, which supports remote consults by both lowering or waiving copayments, records among the best rates of telehealth use. In the past decade 736,000 veterans used such options, mainly for primary-care consults, long term care management and transmission of imaging or alternate patient data.

Some commissioners were worried that raising Medicare payment for such options would increase cost significantly without noticeably improving quality of care. More study is needed to determine the value of telemedicine in primary care, some commissioners said, although they acknowledged that more extensive adoption may decrease hospital and ER admissions. Medicare handles a limited set of telemedicine options with a facility fee to rural sites and full fee schedule payment for people who reside in designated medical specialist deficit regions. Jon Christianson, Ph.D., vice-chairman of MedPAC, said some company insurance agencies bill a high co-payment for telemedicine to discourage its use.

Other commissioners expressed the opposite view, noting that investment in such technology could decrease less cost-effective solutions like hospital visits, ER visits and imaging costs. If telehealth checks some of the costs, the slow escalation in telemedicine can be good, said Craig Samitt, M.D., M.B.A. I think we are being overly conservative. We should be embracing the use of technology faster in the marketplace. Our payment system should not suppress progress.

Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz, Roger Wicker, Thad Cochran, Ben Cardin, John Thune, and Mark Warner launched the Producing Opportunities Now for Vital and Effectual Care Technologies for Wellness Act, bipartisan laws which will enlarge tele wellness suppliers through Medicare, improve care outcome, make it easier for people to join with their health care providers, and help conserve money for people and suppliers. Mississippi has for ages been on the leading edge of healthcare technology, Senator Roger Wicker said. This bill seeks to replicate the achievement that we have made in Mississippi using this technology for patients through the country.

Use of tele-health methods is critical for many South Dakotans residing in rural locations, said Senator John Thune. The LINK for Wellness Act will give people more versatility with their health care regardless of where they determine to live. Technology has huge potential to change the Medicare plan, said Senator Mark Warner. As Governor of Va, I saw in close propinquity how tele well-being increased efficiency, availability and outcomes in Medicaid. Moving forward, we’ve to look for more ways to use creation and give Medicare providers more resources forgiving care. This bipartisan bill provides a good beginning amount, creating on the enhancement we’ve already made in Va, and includes strong quality metrics to give us a better consciousness of what functions and what doesn’t as our healthcare system goes further into the twenty-first century.

Telehealth is the way to obtain health care services via telecoms technology, like live video interactions and asynchronous medical data transfers, like store-and-forward technologies., Remote patient observation refers to private medical data transmitted securely from someone in one place via electronic communications technology to a provider in another place for the goals of healthcare. The AMA is very happy to support laws that will hasten the adoption of healthcare delivery models that encourage organized and patient focused care, said Steven J. Stack, M.D., President of the American Medical Association. This bill would make sure patients and their physicians are able to use new technology that remove impediments to timely quality care. Significantly, the bill would maintain high standards whether a patient is seeing a physician in an office or via telemedicine. We anticipate working with a few other supporters to improve this legislation in Congress.

Telemedicine provides comfort, quality, cost economies and remote access. All these are good thoughts, ones we have heard before. There are, though, a number of other plan initiatives worth focus, if the Affordable Care Act is repealed or not. There is one easy thing Congress could do that would broaden access to top quality care, specifically for patients in rural locations, without costing tax-payers a dime. Telemedicine suppliers, which uses telecommunications to provide healthcare over spaces, have made fantastic strides in enhancing access to care for rural communities. Telemedicine enables fast access to specialists, as with stroke sufferers where time is of the essence.

Video interactions are likely to replace a substantial hunk of face-to face workplace visits. However the present system of state licensing stands in the way of inter-state practice. Physicians should maintain licenses in every state by which they treat patients. Congressional action to determine the positioning of tele-medicine solutions as the place of the doctor would allow doctors to rehearse with one license in several states. It’d allow telemedicine to reach its full potential. Beneath the present system, doctors with several licenses are challenged to comply with state special medical practice laws, as inconsequential to patient security as they might be.

Legal scholars make the case that Congressional actions to lessen impediments to interstate telemedicine could find support in the U.S. Constitutions Commerce Clause. The American Medical Association and the Federation of State Medical Boards claim that permitting a doctor licensed in one state to provide remote care in the others would strive state board sources, placing the people in danger. The irony is that, for many years, state medical tables have been criticized by consumer groups and the others for setting the people in danger. It’s not state boards, but measures of the individuals that protect consumers.

Physician supervision and the resultant consumer protection are the goods of measures by things responsible for doctor malpractice, including hospitals, provider teams, medical medical health insurance agencies setting up doctor panels or networks, and medi cal malpractice insurance companies. These things qualification and assess doctors on a regular basis, not only as they enter the career or when a grievance is filed. There’s no signs that telemedicine suppliers go past the array of solutions that securely can be supplied remotely. Studies of telemedicine uncover improved access, top quality and, in several cases, cost savings. Telemedicine suppliers face bonuses related to indebtedness which are comparable to those confronted by other suppliers. As brand name becomes progressively important in the inter-state tele-medicine marketplace, I’d expect telemedicine quality to rise above that of many neighborhood support providers. Telemedicine provides comfort, quality, cost economies and remote access.

Zipnosis is one of those names that, when you first hear it, you can hazard a guess about what they do based on it’s two root words. Only if you guessed speedy hypnosis would you be wrong. Zipnosis is actually a telemedicine startup delivering clinically appropriate diagnosis in the time it takes to hold a conversation. As in, for a zippy diagnosis, there’s Zipnosis.

Zipnosis’ white label virtual care platforms help private health systems launch their own virtual care service lines that they can then staff with their own clinicians. The startup’s ultimate goal is to help their clients maximize each clinician’s time while retaining clinical caliber outcomes. From the patient’s perspective, it would be like having a one-one-one talk with your family clinician, wherein they can gather all of the necessary information for a diagnosis and provide treatment options, including most types of prescriptions or references.

“Our platform is designed to enable health systems to expand access to immediate care using their own clinicians,” Jon Pearce, co-founder and CEO of Zipnosis, said in a statement. “With Zipnosis, health systems have an opportunity to care for more patients under their own brand name and without adding staff. Patients are happier to be ‘seen’ sooner without having to step foot outside their home or go to a waiting room.”

As Zipnosis further explains, they are making it possible for health systems to glide through each of the clinical, marketing, compliance and operations workflows securely online. The software lines up with the health system’s current digital record vault and patient portal, allowing them to treat existing pateint, or onboard new patients. Plus, Zipnosis can be customized and proprietary-branded, so it seamlessly connects to the health system’s brick-and-mortar practice.

During its Series A financing round, Zipnosis managed to raise an astounding $17 million toward speeding up product development. Zipnosis provides its current telemedicine offering to 17 health care systems, which include Fairview Health Services, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Group Health and John Muir Health.

Telemedicine is fast proving to be the mode of medical care that allows effective patient access to medical attention regardless of the mobility of an individual or the distance from the health facility. In Wisconsin, the rules that have been drafted to direct the procedural approach to telemedicine are sure to change the landscape in terms of how physicians relate to the patients and how the medical records and information collected is stored and secured.

Effect on Physicians relationship

The state of Wisconsin dictates that telephone calls and internet messages are not considered as procedures that constitute telemedicine. It further directs that interactive video and audio are to be integrated as well as detailed images for the process of telemedicine provision to be standard. A physician should first establish and verify the identity of an individual looking for medical attention while also notifying the patient of the certification, license status and overall qualifications. This ultimately means a change in the physician-patient relationship as there is a need for a more interactive and personalized approach that will yield detailed findings that will culminate in effective advice and prescriptions.

The telemedicine rules in Wisconsin will also focus on the licensed practice of the medical care providers and therefore limits the authorized individuals to be the physicians, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists and rural health centers. Physician assistants can only be authorized to offer telemedicine procedures if supervised by any of the qualified professionals.

Effect on patient medical records

The rules on provision of telemedicine in Wisconsin clearly outline the fact that medical records of patients should be kept confidential and access granted only to the patient or parties that a patient has consented to. The physicians attending to a patient through telemedicine will be subject to security protocols that will govern the processing, storage, retrieval and analysis of patient records. A patient has the right to receive and view their medical records upon request and the telemedicine practitioner should also have the capacity to deliver a copy of the records to the scheduled physician handling the patient.

After several years of controversy, the female libido pill, Addyi, is finally available to the public via a prescription. Known as flibanserin, Addyi works by suppressing symptoms of hypoactive sexual desire disorder, a disorder that that is defined by consistent loss of a sex drive that is independent to stressors. Individuals who suffer from this still actively enjoy sex when they have it, but may not enjoy the courting or initiating process. Addyi addresses the underlying causes of this sexual disorder. The dysfunction typically happens to women who are in a long-term, stable relationship.

Experience and Review of Addyi

Vogue writer, Amy Gamerman, gave an honest and candid overview with her experience of Addyi. After feeling particularly queasy for the first couple of days, Gamerman did not exrience a change in her sexual desires for about a week after. However, she is marked with more thoughts of having sex. Although Addyi’s action in the body is not well conceptualized, it antidepressant qualities may be helping women get over the hump of dry sex spells, even when sex is readily available from a partner.

The second week with Addyi, and Gamerman still feel the rumblings of sexual desire. Everyday experiences are anointed with sexual fantasies. After a weekend date with her husband, she has experienced more sexual desire towards her husband. Gamerman then feels a strong sexual desire the morning after. Not only does her desire for sex increases, but the experience improves as well. Instead of rejecting her husband in a school night, Gamerman finds herself more willing. Addyi has allowed her to stay in tuned with her husband and the experience.

Four weeks after taking Addyi, Gamerman feels like her experience with Addyi has been relatively positive. Even though the benefits of Addyi are mild, it gives her a subtle push to seek, enjoy, and experience better sex.

Telemedicine is a practice that could potentially change the lives of millions of people. Telemedicine involves doing the services of doctors at a distance using the benefits of modern information technology. Doctors can diagnose patients today without ever interacting with them personally, especially because some types of diagnoses just require a visual inspection. However, telemedicine services are not currently covered under the majority of private health insurance plans. The new Senate Bill 1363 may be able to change all of that.

Thanks to the Senate Bill 1363, patients will be able to get telemedicine services covered through their private health insurance. The restrictions will no longer be in place, and telemedicine can become part of the normal way in which patients receive medical care. The bill has already managed to pass in the Senate, and now is being evaluated by the House of Representatives.

Many patients are having a difficult time getting the medical care that they need just because it is difficult for them to get to the doctor’s office for whatever reason. They might be suffering from physical or psychological disabilities, thus making the simple act of getting into a car and getting to the doctor challenging for them. They might also not even have access to a car or private transportation in the first place, which is going to stop them from being able to get to a doctor’s office even if they have no other physical or psychological barriers to cross. Some people go without the medical care that they need for years due to the fact that that telemedicine has not been an option for them.

Telemedicine may save the lives of a lot of people who would have gone without medical treatment otherwise. It might also manage to create job opportunities and encourage additional developments in information technology. There are doctors who have reservations about telemedicine for whatever reason. However, there are many other doctors who are in favor of this technological and cultural change.