Remember the Jetsons? Created over 60 years ago, the Jetsons cartoons predicted many futuristic technologies—including video telehealth. But 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?
Telehealth offers convenience
- With telehealth appointments, you can take less time off work—and forget about driving through traffic, searching for a parking space, and sitting in a stuffy waiting room.
- 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.
- Patients can often see a virtual doctor on-demand, instead of having to wait weeks for an appointment, which increases access to care.
Telehealth contributes to better health outcomes
- Telehealth helps to prevent delays in care, and 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 that 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 oftentimes the wait is just minutes.
- When appointments are easy to get to, patients are more likely to show up to them.
- During the cold and flu season, patients can avoid going into clinics and being exposed to viruses and other germs.
- Telehealth can more easily put patients in contact with experts from various sub-specialties who would normally be difficult to connect with.
Telehealth lowers costs for patients
- 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.
- 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 offers telehealth service for which patients do not need insurance. Get rapid access to physicians—wherever you are.