Telemedicine: Shaping the Future of Medicine
By: Shefali Awasthi
Medical doctors have been considered an elite part of our society for thousands of years now. To medical practitioners, the body is the same system for every person. What differentiates them are the individual health conditions, the level of physical activity, and the presence of a healthy diet . It is the doctor’s job to study each and every part of the body and then specialize in their strengths. They must be well versed in the symptoms for possible diseases and understand the correct course of treatment because the patient puts his entire trust and future in the hands of their doctor. However, as our society slowly shifts from a physical setting to one through Wifi connections and Facetime conferences, more people opt for online appointments, rather than hours in a physician’s waiting room.
Doctors are keen to invest in a future that allows for patients to be seen with a click of a button. Telehealth allows them to see their patients remotely. This long-distance relationship uses HIPAA compliant video conferencing tools to communicate with their patient, whether it be emailing them their diagnosis, prescriptions, and treatment options. Live telemedicine, also known as interactive medicine, is when patients and their doctors communicate with one another from a remote environment, such as through a video call. Remote patient monitoring is when caregivers and nurses monitor a patient’s vitals and treatment plan. They usually use mobile medical equipment to do so.
Although basic video cameras and sufficient audio quality are adequate for conducting general checkups, more advanced tools may be required. Some patients have wires hooking them up to machines that collect data on their blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels, etc, depending on their condition. Of course, it is not possible for doctors to step out of a computer screen and monitor their patient’s vitals and help out immediately. A patient might need surgery or tests done right away, but a laggy internet and the sheer distance between the two is enough to determine life or death. There is not always enough time. So, to solve this issue, a French firm called Health for Humanity (H4D) offers its own gadget to help doctors reach their patients from hundreds of miles away. It is best to handle urgent care in person, but for those who do have the time can use telemedicine as an option.
The Consult Station, founded in 2008, is a cabin designed specifically to allow doctors to oversee and control x-rays and audio tests. So far, these cabins have been installed in France, Italy, and Portugal. Further plans show they are going to be set up in Canada, the United States, the Philippines, and Dubai as well. These installations have also brought on the question of how to properly train doctors in order for them to be prepared to run such a machine. Bringing the patient to the cabin is half the battle, while the other lies in the pinpoint structure of robots.
To guide the arm of the robot (or human) that is manning the station, the doctor must be aware of what is occurring in the room right away. This challenge was met using cellular towers and high-speed networks. According to an article published in Medical Xpress, “Spanish doctor Antonio de Lacy carried out the world’s first 5G-power telemonitored operation on Wednesday from the Barcelona trade fair grounds.” His presentation included live footage of a patient with a tumor being surgically treated, only 3 miles away. This step towards almost automatic video and data transfer is what will lead doctors to monitor the vitals of their patients in real-time and take action if needed.
As a result, new and emerging technology has proven very useful in the medical field. During the recent COVID-19 Pandemic, telemedicine has become substantially more popular. With states mandating that non-emergent offices be shut down, as they slowly begin to reopen, older members of our community (mostly those ages 65 and above) are staying cautious of the spread of the disease. Therefore, in order to stay up to date with their check-ups, they are resorting to online examinations. It is inventions like the Consult Station and high-speed networks that will allow doctors to be there for their patients, without a physical presence in the room. As such creations come to life, we may soon find ourselves in a world where doctors are available to us at a simple push of a button.
Sources
HealthLeaders. (n.d.). 4 Ways Telemedicine Is Changing Healthcare. HealthLeaders Media. https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/4-ways-telemedicine-changing-healthcare
Silva, D. (2019, February 27). New tech taking telemedicine to the next level. Medical Xpress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-02-tech-telemedicine.html#:%7E:text=A%20telemedicine%20cabin%20developed%20by,X%2Drays%20and%20hearing%20tests.+
Telemedicine | Medicaid. (n.d.). Medicad. https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/telemedicine/index.html
