How Telehealth is Benefitting the Masses During COVID-19?

 With the increase in popularity of modern medicine that allows people to live a longer and better life, the demand for doctors is also increasing. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the restriction of commuting to different locations raised the need for telehealth. An increasing number of patients during COVID-19 increased the usage of phone consultations. 

Thanks to technology, now we can reach our doctors without visiting clinics. 

Statistics show that 98% of patients have shown improvement through phone consultation doctor prescribed medicines and treatment.  

Are you worried it might not help you? Do you think your doctor will not assist you better over the phone? Here’s how telehealth is changing the healthcare game. 

Benefits of Phone Consultation

1. Saves traveling time

A majority of Australians have cars, and most of them are primarily dependent on their vehicle. Visiting a doctor requires traveling to the clinic. If the urgency is during peak hours, a patient can experience congestion on the road, which cannot be avoided even by honking. However, with a consultation over the phone, a person will not have to travel by car or public transportation. Today, the majority of doctors provide audio and visual consultation services, thanks to the internet. Consultation over the phone is the best remedy when your mobility is restricted due to an ailment or staying in a remote area. Through teleconsultation, you get medical assistance from the comfort of your home. 

2. Save money

According to a study done by a Medical Institute, teleconsultation saves money for an individual because they don't visit the hospital/clinic. Let's be honest; you are provided with a list of laboratory tests and physical examinations whenever you visit a hospital, which is an added cost. Also, commuting by personal vehicle means spending money on gas, and commuting by public transport means spending money on tickets. But through teleconsultation, you can save all these extra added expenses. 

3. Privacy

There are instances when patients are reluctant to visit a doctor for their ailment, for example, seeing a sexologist due to infertility or erectile dysfunction. Online consultation or talking over the phone will help in keeping a patient's identity confidential. Moreover, if the patient is consulting over the phone in their comfort zone, like home, they are more confident about their problem. Some situations may call for an in-person examination before a prescription is handed over. Still, ordinary cases like a prescription for contraceptives or allergy medication can be taken by a doctor over the phone. 

4. Comfort level

What will you do if you wake up in the middle of the night with weird symptoms like chest pain? In earlier days, people waited for clinics to open the next day or were rushed to a nearby hospital. Even when you have a busy full-time work schedule, it is impossible to meet a doctor during working hours. But through teleconsultation, you can see a doctor without compromising your health and schedule. Instead of waiting in long queues outside the doctor's room, you can call them at the comfort of your home and consult over the phone.  

5. No chance of infection

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were reluctant to visit clinics and hospitals. The risk of catching different kinds of infection, especially coronavirus, was high. It would have been extraordinary if you went to a clinic to get better and came back with coronavirus or any other infection. With the help of teleconsultation, the risk of catching any virus is eliminated. When your immune system is low, it is better to speak to a doctor over the phone from your home. 

Benefit for Health Care Providers

1. Healthcare staff that provides consultation over the phone can manage more patients in less time. By providing teleconsultation, they are available 24/7 to the public. 

2. When doctors talk to patients over the phone, they are less exposed to viruses and pathogens patients may carry. The risk of infection increases when patients visit doctors for an in-person consultation. 

3. Consultation with doctors over the phone works for any condition requiring no laboratory test or physical examinations. Sometimes, ongoing treatment and follow-ups can also be done over the phone to save doctor's time and patient's commuting time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients who lived far away from medical care facilities were still treated through teleconsultation. 

Consultation over the phone has taken a step ahead. Telephone consulting has become more prominent in recent years. Today, doctors can diagnose, provide a line of treatment and prescribe medication through audio and video calls.

Hale Road Medical has been swift in adapting to the changing scenarios of the healthcare system and has been one of the pioneers in introducing Telehealth in Perth, Australia.

Hale Road Medical is a dedicated general practice clinic that has grown with better quality healthcare services and expanded with a team of nurses and a general practitioners portfolio. Schedule your appointment today! and let us know how we can help you.