Sir Google No. 2

2.
One of the global factors influencing transcultural nursing is the worldwide increase in the use
of modern high technologies, cyberspace, and electronic communications and health
technologies bringing communication and technologies closer to people of diverse cultures.
Telemedicine, as an emerging technology in global healthcare system, signifies the use of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve patient outcomes by
increasing access to care and medical information. Given that our country has unstable internet
service and lack ICT facilities especially in rural and remote areas, what do you think are
the advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine in the healthcare systemof the
Philippines? And how it would contribute to the achievement of the DOH vision which
states that “Filipinos are among the healthiest people in Southeast Asia by 2022, and Asia
by 2040”
ADVANTAGES:
 Always free to use

 Time spent away from work is reduced
 There are no travel costs, parking fines, or time requirements
 Reduced interference with responsibility for infant or elder care
 No delays or dangerous travel due to bad weather
 Shortened wait times
 Complete and secure privacy
 Expands the number of specialists that can be consulted, even those who reside farther
away
 There is no interaction with other (potentially contagious) patients
 No Downloads with Doxy.me
Telemedicine increases access to care
Distance and travel time between patients and care providers can limit access to care.
Fortunately, telemedicine can overcome geographic barriers to healthcare, especially for
specialized providers. Telemedicine can be particularly beneficial for patients in medically
underserved communities and those in rural geographical locations where clinician shortages
exist.
Telemedicine improves quality of care delivery
Telemedicine can improve the quality of care for patients with both medical and mental health
conditions. A recent study showed that with telemedicine, patients had:
 38% fewer hospital admissions

 31% fewer hospital re-admissions
 63% more likely to spend fewer days in the hospital
 Were more engaged in their healthcare
Telemedicine reduces healthcare costs

Telemedicine can increase efficiency of care delivery, reduce expenses of caring for patients or
transporting to another location, and can even keep patients out of the hospital. In fact, one study
showed that telemedicine care had 19 percent savings over inpatient care cost.
Telemedicine enhances traditional face-to-face medicine
A strong doctor-patient relationship is the foundation for high-quality patient care and reducing
health care costs. Telemedicine should support, not replace, traditional care delivery. With
telemedicine care providers can continue to care for patients in-person care while still providing
the flexibility and convenience of seeing patients remotely for follow up visits, check-ups, and
education when appropriate or necessary.
Telemedicine Improves Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a method of collecting diagnostic and other types of health
data from patients in one location and safely transmitting the data to health care facilities in
another location for evaluation and recommendations. This form of service allows a provider to
keep better track of a patient’s healthcare records once they’ve been discharged from the
hospital, minimizing the amount of hospitalizations, readmissions, and periods of stay—all of
which tend to enhance quality of life and keep prices down. Analytic and information
technologies can capture vital signs, blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, weight, blood sugar,
and electrocardiograms, among other things.
Telemedicine improves patient engagement and satisfaction
Telemedicine makes it easier and more convenient for patients to stay healthy and engaged in
their health care. Patients love the convenience, flexibility and real-time care with their
providers.
Telemedicine improves provider satisfaction
Being a healthcare provider today can be challenging and stressful at times. Telemedicine can
improve job satisfaction by making it easier to meet with patients. Providers can use
telemedicine to make it easier to balance their work and family life. Read Dr. Shaya’s blog post
about increasing her job satisfaction with telemedicine.
Overall Benefits and Advantages of Telemedicine
Telemedicine increases the standard of clinical care while also making care more accessible to a
wider range of individuals. Telemedicine improves the performance, coordination, and
accessibility of health care. Doxy.me makes telemedicine simple and convenient to use for both
practitioner and patient.
To experience the benefits of telehealth, sign up for your simple and free doxy.me telemedicine
account today.
DISADVANTAGES:
Limitations to doing teleconsultation as shared by our doctors and patients include:
 Patients should have necessary equipment and stable IT connections with the doctor to
pursue an interrupted telemedicine consultation. A waiver is needed to ensure that
patients do understand that such processes have inherent limitations.
 Payment for professional services being undertaken have also uncovered challenges. The
difficulty of paying doctors was raised by both doctors and patients alike. Currently in the
Philippines, banks have online systems but there are many citizens who are still limited to
making in-person payments or deposits. Given the quarantine and restricted physical
movements outside of the house, this has now become a challenge. The processing of the
proof of payment is a laborious task. Such processes also circumvent the obligations of
medical doctors declaring taxes.
 Who owns the health data? While we know patients should own the data, the realities are
that health data are controlled by providers (both doctors and the care facilities) under the
current health system setup. This leads to trust issues and challenges in obtaining data by
the patient himself when needed.
For ICT in health and telehealth to be fully appreciated and to flourish in the Philippines, there
are some systemic and strategic steps needed. First, the Government needs to establish a
common integrated platform (i.e. HL7 for instance). This is critical if various electronic
application vendors are tasked to develop software to capture health databases. Second,
frameworks must be established for the inter-operability of data and records. Third, there must be
clarity on who will shoulder the cost of hardware, software and training on the part of the
healthcare professional and the facilities. There are significant time and financial resource
investments required if this was to become the standard operating procedure for the country.
Finally, the operational question of how telehealth providers are compensated needs to be
answered. We know that ICT in health is so important in managing and navigating a fragmented
health system. This discussion began over 10 years ago and yet progress has been slow.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the landscape, and the awareness and potential
value of ICT in health has suddenly resurfaced and is on the forefront.

Sir Google No. 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sir Google No. 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sir Google No. 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2.

 Always free to use

Telemedicine increases access to care

Telemedicine improves quality of care delivery

 38% fewer hospital admissions

Telemedicine reduces healthcare costs

Telemedicine enhances traditional face-to-face medicine

Telemedicine Improves Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Telemedicine improves patient engagement and satisfaction

Telemedicine improves provider satisfaction

Overall Benefits and Advantages of Telemedicine

Limitations to doing teleconsultation as shared by our doctors and patients include:

You might also like