Telemedicine Software

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, telemedicine software services have become extremely popular, and every day more people are using this service instead of going to hospitals and emergency departments as they faced lockdowns and became more hesitant to do in-person doctor’s appointments. Telemedicine is an accessible option since it’s available 24/7 and can be easily done by everyone looking for immediate care.

Telemedicine is, according to The World Health Organization (WHO) is “healing from a distance“, as doctors can conduct live chats or video chats with patients, ask questions, answer their questions and possible concerns, and diagnose them.

(Infographic source: Ruby.com)

But although the pandemic made the telemedicine platforms and software gain popularity, this practice is not new and cities with a big population living in rural areas with difficult access to hospitals have been being treated like for many years, as the doctors can check-up on the population health and take care of those with pre-existing conditions while they stay at home.

The Benefits of Telemedicine Software

Telemedicine technology was first used in the 19th century as doctors could help with injuries and prescribe treatments for the ones injured in the war – this was done by the telephone and radio.

Since then, the practice has improved and is now a viable option and most of the time preferred by the patients. And the best benefit from telemedicine is how low cost it is, making it accessible to the biggest part of the population.

Telemedicine software is used by doctors, nurses, physicians, clinical nurses, clinical psychologists, and nutrition professionals, so a wide range of medical situations can be done through it.

From the doctor’s perspective, the benefits include being able to increase the number of patients treated in one day, providing a service that is more affordable, and the reduction on the number of no-shows that happens a lot in in-person appointments

From the patient’s perspective, telemedicine doesn’t require long-distance travel to see the doctor, it’s more affordable, much faster, and easier to get a treatment from home and the possibility of doing it at any time.

Telemedicine Software Services

When looking for telemedicine software that suits your needs, it’s important to keep in mind some features that ensure good treatment and support. The most complete ones offer an appointment calendar, so you can keep track of the appointments scheduled. Video sessions for a better understanding of the symptoms, intuitive information, technical support for any problems involving the software, easy payment processing, and a good privacy policy that will ensure that any personal data is encrypted and stored safely.

With that in mind, the five most complete telemedicine software of 2021 are:

1. Mend: It’s super easy to use, the forms can be effortlessly filled, and doesn’t let the patient forget the scheduled appointments by sending SMS reminders. It’s possible to make a self-scheduling appointment and all the video conferencing between patients and doctors are high-quality.
2. Doxy Me: It has a free trial period and runs on any browser – no need to download and configure apps as everything runs on their website. It offers messages, voice, and video communications on the website.
3. Intelehealth: It’s an open-source telemedicine software that was designed to help health workers taking care of rural workers in communities. It has a knowledge-enabled expert system that gives support to the healthcare workers when taking a decision on the patient’s treatment. The video, audio, and all medical data can be transmitted and stored even when the connection is low. It also has videos to educate the patients.
4. Borboleta: Borboleta is a free and open-source telemedicine software. This software safely stores the patient data like name, address, address, and date of birth, and this data can be easily accessed by the doctor. It also provides information on the patient’s relatives and their socioeconomic data.
5. AMC Health: with more than 17 years of experience, AMC Health provides real-time and multiple peer-review of the patient’s data to ensure the best treatment. The patient can self-report information with clarity and the software facilitates remote monitoring.

Possible Concerns of Telemedicine Software

But as telemedicine software is becoming more popular the concerns about this service are also increasing. Some of them are related to software privacy, as they handle sensitive information on the patients and doctors.

Some patients show concerns about the software payment methods and reimbursement processes. Doctors are more concerned about the lack of previous data from patients, making it difficult for them to understand any chronic diseases and to keep continuous care while worrying about the lack of technical skills from the patients to use the service.

Before choosing the best telemedicine software it’s important to address all possible concerns and go for the one that provides a complete service.

By Gary Bernstein