Written by Karen Louise Stoner
As defined by the WHO, Telehealth is the provision of healthcare, ‘where patients and providers are separated by distance’.
The use of technology is pertinent for history taking, exchanging of information, diagnosing, and even treatment. Telehealth may be seen as a more universal approach to healthcare as it can improve access to patients worldwide. It is cost-effective, time-effective, and a plausible option for vulnerable or ageing patients.
Countries like the UK and the USA have long-ago launched virtual healthcare facilities on the internet and many other facilities have been slowly transferring services online. In Malta, such a degree of telehealth looked like a distant future and it was just in its infancy. However, COVID-19 pressed the fast forward button on a number of things and it is seeming as though the future has arrived.
Benefits
At first glance, telehealth does reap an unprecedented amount of benefits. Clinicians moving their services onto an online platform appears like less expenditure on practice overheads which can thus indicate increased revenue. It is also time-saving in a more efficient way to abide by stricter appointment times, yet also being able to expand clinic hours. As previously mentioned, the outreach of care is expanded. Those unable to leave their house have access to the healthcare they previously wouldn’t have had. With chronic conditions at an all-time rise, telemonitoring allows practitioners an easier way to touch-base with patients and monitor progress/ setbacks and be able to adapt treatment plans more regularly.
The patient can also see reduced costs in their telehealth experiences as the expenses of time off work, childcare, travel, and more, are eliminated.
The immediacy of telehealth can also tackle acute conditions much faster than an outpatient, state basis. This could result in a better prognosis of conditions.
Setbacks
The benefits are unignorable and the huge demand for telehealth shows its progress and promise. However, like everything in life, it does not come without its setbacks.
The initial capital to be invested in telehealth should not be underestimated. Investments in encrypted servers, appropriate databases, high-quality video, and audio devices are a reality. This also involves expenditure in training staff to be able to use them.
Internet connections are not reliable. Vital information might be missed or miscommunicated due to poor connection or quality from both the clinician to the patient, or patient to the clinician.
The elderly population is not often tech-savvy, nor do they always have access to technology. For this reason, the original argument of accessibility is questioned. This could also be the case for illiterate or low socioeconomic background patients.
Healthcare professionals develop relationships with their patients far beyond diagnosis and treatment. Taking physiotherapy as an example, the name of the profession depicts a valid point: physical therapy. There is an array of manual techniques in the profession that are automatically excluded by transitioning to telehealth. This shows the lack of feasibility in a complete transition to online care.
The lack of intimacy of face to face conversation might make a patient uncomfortable in disclosing sensitive information through a screen. Empathy might not be displayed as well as if the practitioner had to be in the same room as that person.
A student’s perspective
Change often brings about question marks and uncertainty. As a soon to be graduate, a newbie to a healthcare profession, it brings about certain anxieties to be entering new territory, still in its ‘guinea pig’ stages. The beauty of healthcare, in my opinion, is that a personal relationship is developed between the clinician and their patient. I can see this being lost through the medium of the screen. Whilst the aim is to make healthcare more accessible, I can see the negative aspects and exclusion criteria of telehealth outweighing the benefits. Call me traditional, but as a health science student, I am extremely skeptical of the new E-World of health.
cover image: source
