Know all about eHealth and Telemedicine

eHealth and telemedicine both are advancement of technology which have facilitated things in healthcare domain. These tools have enhanced patient care by bringing better efficiencies, reduction in errors, improved quality and reduction in TAT(turnaround time).

eHealth popularly known as electronic Health is like father on the family tree of ICT in healthcare. It implies the use of computers as well as networks, for example, the Internet for managing and storing medical records without using paper files. It is also referred as health information technology which makes your medical records available anytime anywhere. It includes technology such as electronic health records, patient administration systems and lab systems.

It is process of healthcare delivery where electronic processes facilitate things and helps patients to get evidence-based treatment. It provides people an easy option where they don’t need to carry their paper files of medical records everywhere. For an example in a span of 10 years, if you have visited at least 10 times to different doctors, one can imagine how difficult it is for a particular doctor to track your medical records. eHealth steps in at this point of time

Telemedicine also known as remote clinical services is used to treat patients who are at remote areas. It allows healthcare providers to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients without the need for an in-person visit.

The technique has been very helpful to improve healthcare delivery at Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) and Community Healthcare Centers (CHCs).

There are three types i.e remote patient monitoring, store-and-forward telemedicine and interactive telemedicine.

Remote patient monitoring –It helps patients with chronic diseases to be monitored at their homes. Patient care is improved through the use of mobile medical devices which collect data about blood sugar levels, blood pressure or other vital signs. Remote caregivers can review the data instantly.

Store-and-forward--It allows providers to share patient information, such as lab results, with a physician at another location.

Interactive telemedicine-With this type of telemedicine mode, physicians and patients communicate in real time. Such sessions can be conducted in the patient's home or in a nearby medical facility and include telephone conversations or the use of video conferencing.