Telehealth is beginning to have a major impact on how people access healthcare – from the phone, laptop, tablet and more. Because access is more widespread, there is an increasing amount of digital innovation to accommodate and utilize the vast amounts of data produced through Telehealth. In fact, according to the latest report from the Mercom Capital Group the healthcare technology funding increased from $5.6B in 2016 to $8.2B in 2017. What does Telehealth actually look like? Here are the four core areas.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Does your healthcare provider have an app or website where you can track your appointments and symptoms and see your test results? This is all a part of RPM – aka continued care outside the doctor’s office. This is an easy way to keep people healthy without the hassle of an in-person appointment

Store-and-Forward

Essentially this is a way for doctors to communicate with specialists easily, on behalf of patients. Patients can go to their primary care providers and have digital photos, x-rays, MRIs, etc. sent on to specialists so that patients don’t have to go to an in-person, specialist appointment. This is a HUGE advantage for those who do not have access to specialized health care because of where they are located (think rural communities) or because of financial burdens.

Video

This allows a patient to communicate to a healthcare provider using video (think Skype but for doctor’s appointments). This also reduces the need for in-person appointments!

Mobile Health (health)

This is simply health care services and access via your phone. This can mean that your healthcare provider can text you about disease outbreaks or simply healthy behavior tips.

Want to learn more about Telehealth? Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you implement the technology and infrastructure to support Telehealth operations.