Skip to main content

What is telemedicine and what are its advantages?

Father and child engaging in telemedicine with doctor

Technology has advanced to overcome the traditional communication barriers of time and distance. The practice of telemedicine is a step forward in healthcare, using telecommunication to bridge the gap of time, distance and affordability to reach patients who need medical attention.

What is telemedicine?

Telemedicine uses technology to facilitate communication, whether real-time or delayed, between a doctor and patient who are not in the same physical location, for the purpose of medical evaluation, diagnosis and treatment. Advances in telecommunication allow the exchange of medical information from one site to another to serve patients in a clinical setting.

Telemedicine advantages

Telemedicine offers numerous benefits for both doctors and patients. Advantages of using telemedicine include:

  • Remote access

Communicating remotely with a doctor is a primary function of telemedicine. With this technology, doctors can reach patients in remote, rural and underserved areas where there might not be an available doctor or hospital. Through telemedicine, patients can access doctors for routine visits, emergency care or diagnostics from a specialist.

  • Specialist availability

Another benefit of telemedicine is increased access to specialists. Even when patients live in urban areas with numerous doctors and hospitals, specialists for rare health conditions may not practice in the area. Telemedicine enables patients in both rural and urban areas to connect with specialists who may be hundreds of miles away.

  • Cost savings

Another major benefit of telemedicine is reduced costs. Patients save money for routine and specialist care because they don’t have to pay travel expenses for distant doctors and don’t have to take excessive time off work to travel and then sit in a waiting room. Doctors can also see more patients, more efficiently, in a day, which can help reduce overhead and related costs. In addition, remote monitoring can help lessen the much larger cost of long hospitalizations or in-home nursing, and it may reduce the cost of managing chronic conditions. Remote monitoring can also help prevent hospital readmissions by enabling proper supervision of care following a patient’s discharge from the hospital.

  • Convenient care

For some patients, the comfort and convenience of consulting with a doctor from the safety of their own homes is a tremendous advantage. It can also improve care. For example, patients might forget to bring medications with them to a traditional office visit. When patients are at home, they have ready access to the information necessary for the doctor to diagnose and prescribe. It is also often easier for a patient to take notes or include a family member who can help retain important information from the doctor.

The role of telemedicine

Fueled by technological advances and answering the clamor for consumer-convenient care, telemedicine delivers many advantages. Although not the same as being in an actual doctor’s office, a telemedicine visit with a doctor can prove beneficial by warding off further illness or disease, monitoring a patient at home or stabilizing a condition until a patient is able to reach a hospital. Telemedicine is not a complete replacement for face-to-face healthcare, but it can be a tremendously helpful supplement and even a temporary substitute for traditional medical care.

For more information about employee benefits, our services and products, contact HANYS Benefit Services by email or call 800.388.1963.

The information in this blog is intended for informational use only and should not be construed as professional advice. © 2023 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.


Popular posts from this blog

Employee Benefits Offerings: What Perks Can You Add?

Employee benefits can play a crucial role in attracting and retaining top talent. Beyond compensation and bonuses, offering a variety of perks can significantly enhance employee satisfaction and productivity. But what should you include in your employee benefits offerings?   What are employee benefits?   Employee benefits encompass compensation, bonuses and various perks outside an employee's wage. By offering flexible employee benefits, you can improve employee productivity and loyalty while attracting and retaining talented candidates.   Personalized benefits examples   The type of benefits offered can vary by industry. We've compiled some of the most popular options to help you explore possible employee benefits strategies .  1. Social opportunities   Employee perks don't always have to be tied to a benefits package. Sometimes, the best way to engage your employees can be through social opportunities. Group activities can help im...
Read more

What is Risk Management? 4 Key Topics to Know

Understanding risk management in retirement programs  Managing a retirement program is complex, with multiple layers of risk. For organizations and their leadership, understanding and mitigating these risks is crucial to ensuring the long-term success and reliability of these programs.   It often leaves human resource professionals, employers and program administrators questioning, "What is risk management, and how can we excel at it?"  This blog post explores the various aspects of risk management in retirement program administration and provides actionable insights to help organizations better manage these risks.  The importance of risk management  Retirement programs are designed to benefit participants and beneficiaries, but they come with their own set of risks. These risks can be broadly categorized into four main topics:  Fees  Administration  Investments  Cybersecurity  Each of these topics requires meticulous attention and ...
Read more

Innovative employee retention strategies: 9 fresh ideas

Employee engagement and retention are pivotal in every sector, but they carry even more weight in the not-for-profit space, where resources are often limited. High turnover can be both costly and disruptive, impacting productivity and damaging morale. In an era of workforce evolution, to effectively retain their top talent, organizations must explore innovative employee retention strategies that go beyond conventional methods.  Engaged employees are distinguished by their higher productivity, motivation and loyalty, and they are more likely to stay with a company for the long term. Gallup recently updated its research article, The Benefits of Employee Engagement , finding that "low engagement teams typically endure turnover rates that are 18% to 43% higher than highly engaged teams."  In addition to turnover, disengaged employees negatively impact a company's financial health, with turnover costs averaging six to nine months of the departed employee's salary, accordin...
Read more