Online Doctor Consultation: Pros and Cons
The human body, with all its capabilities, is a fragile thing. It is vulnerable to diseases and the passage of time. Man had to begin experimenting with ways to push back these factors, and hence, medicine started evolving with the first stones of civilization.
History has revealed records of medical illnesses and ways to treat them dating back thousands of years. With the passage of time, medicinal advances have grown in leaps and bounds. Medicine was treated as an art in the early ages and was heavily tinged with shades of religion and philosophy in certain cultures. Medicine men were considered spiritual healers who would chant prayers while applying concoctions of herbs on patients to rid them of maladies. Roman and Greek physicians came up with a meticulous system of treatment according to four bodily fluids called humors. The surplus or deficiency of humors would bring about diseases. In India, Ayurveda was used to treat people as far back as 1500 BC, with in-depth knowledge of human anatomy as well as surgical procedures.
In the modern world, medicine is still considered an art, such as the skill required in complex procedures that can only come with practice. However, today medicine walks hand in hand with science rather than religion. Once man had technology in his grasp, medicine grew exponentially. There is no need to cut a body open to examine its insides; we have machines for scans that reveal the innermost workings of the body, which were earlier shrouded in mystery. Machines perform complex operations with exact measurements in tiny spaces on delicate tissues within the body. We're still developing systems to save lives and keep diseases at bay with more convenience, and it has brought us today to the future of online doctor consultation.
Online doctor consultation can have profound effects on the medical landscape. Will it be possible to receive a diagnosis without physically consulting a doctor using online reports? Will healthcare lose its personal touch as gadgets step in instead of caring hands? Is online doctor consultation the revolutionary healthcare method we need to go with our fast-paced lifestyles?
How is it going to help you? Here are some pros and cons you can mentally weigh before you get involved with a doctor online.
Cost-Effective
For those who need a second opinion or a follow-up consultation with a doctor, it is not economically viable to go in for a visit and pay the full amount. Since time slots and corresponding fees are fixed, they normally tend to be lower than the fees of a walk-in appointment. Follow-up queries are easily solvable over text.
Medical assistance is expensive, and without medical insurance, people have to bear the full brunt of long bills. Online doctor consultation is a cheaper alternative for those without medical insurance to get the help they need.
No Location or Time Restrictions
Need to get that mysterious back pain confirmed but your 9 to 7 job won't allow it? Simply pick up your phone and ask a doctor. You can text your concerns to your doctor within the comfort of your home, in your car, or even at your desk in the office. Most jobs don't yield a lot of time readily available. If you're one of the lucky ones with a two-day weekend, you will find that a lot of doctors aren't available on weekends.
With online consultations, you can consult a doctor around the clock whenever you can spare a few minutes. Even if we do manage to get ourselves to a clinic, we're always scared we'll end up catching an infection from that sniffling guy sneezing violently beside us. Straining not to breathe in any germs and all that nerve-wracking waiting actually adds to mental stress, which may aggravate any illness we might have. Online consultation definitely helps.
Overcoming Distances
The distance from your home to a healthcare center is often one of the biggest challenges that you face. Some are ill-equipped to travel long distances to a healthcare center; some have homes far from any healthcare providers in the vicinity but might need urgent answers to problems they are experiencing. If you're lucky enough to have a car, you have to account for the expenditure on fuel, waiting in mind-numbing traffic, and stressing about finding a parking spot. For those who don't own a car, public transport is another issue they have to deal with before they can get the care they need.
Online medical consultation can provide you with answers to health questions as you sit on your couch. Responses are almost instant, which is good for those who need urgent answers. Rural areas where medical resources are scarce will especially benefit from online consultation. Those in rural areas in developing countries have to travel to cities to get adequate healthcare. Online consultation will prove helpful in such cases, as they can receive advice from specialists as well.
Avoiding Self-Diagnosis
The first thing we do when we start experiencing a mysterious pain in our bodies is googling the symptoms. Like many before us, the results more often than not point to fatal diseases, which can be frightening. With countless health tips and articles online, people end up following things they've read off the internet, which are often written by people with no expertise. This can prove dangerous as self-medication can go horribly wrong. Online doctor consultation enables us to put forth these queries to verified medical experts who can give prudent advice on what to do and what not to do.
Using E-Prescriptions
Nowadays, doctors can send e-prescriptions to pharmacies, and you can go directly to the pharmacy to pick up your medicines. This is especially useful for people who are on treatment plans that require refills every now and then. Your doctor can send a prescription remotely without you having to physically go and get a prescription for refills. This makes life easier for those who are on asthma medication or need contraceptive pills.
The system of e-prescriptions encourages interactions between pharmacists and doctors. With physical prescriptions, doctors are usually unaware of whether their patients are getting the prescribed medicines or store-recommended alternatives in case the prescribed medicines are unavailable. The alternatives may not suit a patient. In many cases, doctors using the e-prescription system can see whether the patient can afford the prescribed medicines or suggest cheaper alternatives.
Security and Privacy
Many people with problems they deem embarrassing hesitate to visit medical practitioners and get the help they need. In such cases, they can be guided through online consultation. They can avoid a face-to-face conversation and open up about their problems to doctors, knowing that their privacy is protected. A common question that arises with regards to online consultation is whether the communication between doctors and patients is safe. Most online services comply with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which ensures that health information is protected in terms of privacy and security, digital or otherwise. Most countries have health laws that safeguard the privacy of health information provided to medical practitioners. Additionally, health-tech platforms typically have security systems and servers to ensure that your information is not compromised.
Knowing Your Body Better
In some cases, a doctor might ask you to examine your symptoms to provide more clarity on what the problem could be. As such, you may learn how to probe that suspicious-looking lump or examine your swollen sinuses. You might be able to assess better what kind of help you need.
While it is recommended that any medical issues be tested personally by doctors to yield a more accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, minor issues can be a warning sign for something serious which requires careful, physical examination. However, for health issues that are not very urgent, online doctor consultation can eliminate many hassles involved in getting adequate care. Most of the doctors online are verified experts who have their practice offline but also operate online. So, when you just pick up your phone, help is a tap away.
No comments:
Post a Comment