TeleHealth
A Brief Overview
Telehealth refers to the use of technology to provide healthcare services remotely. It can include a wide range of services, including virtual consultations and remote monitoring.
The use of telehealth is becoming increasingly prevalent in health care and is set to continue. Medical students trained in telehealth and telemedicine will be better prepared to provide patient care using these technologies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these technologies were an essential tool. that allows medical staff to provide care while minimizing the risk of exposure to the virus.
Telehealth can also contribute to closing the health inequity gap in some circumstances. For example, it can improve access to medical care for patients living in rural areas by providing fast and efficient patient consultations in many cases this technology also allows for greater flexibility in appointment scheduling and can reduce costs for patients and the medical profession as well as increase access to specialists who may not be available in a patients area.
Some of the skills required
Apart from the differences in performing a clinical assessment remotely, taking a patient’s history, performing a physical examination, and interpreting test results. There are additional considerations for doctors when using telehealth. For example, in order to demonstrate competence a doctor will need to have a reasonable understanding of the hardware and software technology as well. This will allow them to perform basic troubleshooting on the equipment for both themselves and the patients equipment if necessary. They also need to have a good understanding of data security and privacy. Therefore students should be trained in all the various aspects of security and privacy for remote patient consultations and how to maintain privacy and security of data obtained and/or subsequently shared. As well as how to comply with the relevant regulations and laws within NZ. Also, an important consideration for NZ doctors is the different cultural perspectives and values to consider with regard to data. For example, Māori data should only be collected, stored, and used in a way that is consistent with Māori values and principles.