An Australian doctor in 1900 propounded the term “Telemedicine.” He utilized a two-sided radio to transfer a medical advertisement. But the sense of the term was evolved significantly over time. Telemedicine is a methodology offering remote healthcare with the healthcare providers & center’s to the patient in different geographical areas. During this COVID-19 crisis, Telemedicine app development has emerged as the pioneer tool for treating a maximum number of patients. But post-covid barriers have set back all the functioning associated with healthcare. People are looking up for How to overcome Post-Covid barriers of telemedicine? The article is a detailed guide on how one can defeat these barriers and flaunt Telemedicine and its facilities in maximum regions. 

World Health Organization (WHO) getting an account since 2019 has declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. Many nationals worldwide have initiated a partial or complete lockdown. In such a scenario, the population is strictly restricted from getting out of their homes. Hence, people opted for Telemedicine Apps to get quick medical attention from the respective doctors, being at home. 

What are the Barriers of Telemedicine?

Barriers are obstacles that stop physicians or doctors to deliver healthcare services remotely. These barriers can come in any form, which has been discussed below.

Readout all the information properly. 

1. Barriers for Physicians

The physicians might face problems like malpractice and liability concerns which is pacing around 60%. Then comes the reimbursement concerns which go around 43%. Other major barriers for physicians are technical problems around 40% and Privacy issues around 40%. 

2. Barrier for Patients

64% of people believe that they didn’t found the exact diagnosis through Telemedicine. 51% of patients claimed that their physician doesn’t offer telemedicine. Around 30% to 40% of people are concerned about their insurance coverage. 31% audience believes they face internet connectivity issues in their areas. 

Barriers to Telehealth in Rural Areas

There are a few factors that seem like barriers to Telemedicine while targeted patients. These barriers are available in both rural and urban areas. Let’s check out the most common obstacle for delivering the best remote healthcare:

1. Imperfect Internet Connectivity is Also a Barriers of Telemedicine:-

Most of the telemedicine apps work through Internet Connectivity. The non-availability of these connections may lead to the failure of operations in most of the apps. Developing countries like India face a lack of proper internet connections in many areas, especially rural regions. 

Thus, due to poor internet connectivity, there comes an error in delivering smooth telemedicine services. 

2. Infrastructure of an Organization

One of the core barriers in transmitting telemedicine was the organizational structure. The refraining between the stakeholders, and the unpreparedness of the healthcare industry for adopting digital technologies, comes when there is no formal organizational structure. 

3. Margin

Presently, the price of customer acquisition is one of the toughest challenges to telemedicine. However, telemedicine is growing rapidly but one thing healthcare providers are considering is lower consultation and economical treatment might not give many profits. 

4. Utility of Telemedicine

Another barrier is the utility itself of telemedicine. Many times it’s been seen that people take telehealth solutions in case of headaches, running noses, nausea, sore throats, etc. Telehealth being the easiest way of getting these issues cured, the healthcare sector will not involve much if patients do not come up with severe problems. 

5. Misdiagnosis Can be a Barriers of Telemedicine

Telehealth is a way of delivering treatment or diagnosis at home. Sometimes, these virtual treatments may cause barriers to treatment. A few groups of patient considers that virtual health assistance is not that appropriate as seeking a physician in clinic. Virtual health assistance drives no good healthcare and eventually leads to money wastage. 

How to Overcome Post-Covid Barriers of Telemedicine?

Telemedicine is an emerging source of providing healthcare in any part of the world. It may have some disadvantages now, but if healthcare providers and patients gain proper education about this tool, then definitely it can be the best way to get healthcare assistance being at home. 

The section here explains a few methodologies by which Post-Covid Barriers of Telemedicine can be overcome. These are technologies that support telehealth on a priority basis. so, let’s have a gaze over this prominent mechanism:

1. Using EHR

EHR stands for Electronic Health Records. It offers doctors entire information about the patient’s medical state. The software helps in coping up with the disease by easy and effective diagnosis and reduces the probability of misdiagnosis. Simultaneously, it boosts the process of treating the patients. 

2. Patient Monitoring

Using telemedicine apps, physicians can easily treat and seek the medical conditions of their patients even after their successful treatment. By looking after a patient on being discharged, re-admissions can be reduced. This also makes any patient rely on virtual healthcare assistance more.

3. Internet (Broadband) Funding

Here comes the Federal Communications Commission who has stated that in some regions, to uplift the healthcare section it is necessary to impart broadband funding. It has also initiated many policies like Connected Care NPRM, and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), etc. The RDOF offers reliable broadband networks with less latency and enough uploading bandwidth, that supports telehealth requirements in rural regions. 

4. Telehealth App Training Can be Barriers of Telemedicine:-

Many companies lack the infrastructure to properly implement telemedicine software. Not only this, lack of formal organizational structure leads to a lack of awareness towards more advanced healthcare delivery models. 

The barrier can be removed by initiating Telemedicine App training among the members of the organization. This helps in imparting proper education of the app and the final results are successful delivery of healthcare. 

5. Reimbursement Laws:-

The policies prevailing in the healthcare sector are not in compliance with telemedicine services. With the growing digitalization and acceptance of telehealth in the light of COVID-19, companies have started to initiated services for telemedicine in their policies. 

One of the finest outcomes includes the coverage of telemedicine services in insurance policies. Another hope is that government will start imparting payment laws too for telemedicine services for patients and physicians. 

Conclusion:

So this was all about “How to Deal with Post-Covid Barriers of Telemedicine? The utilization of telehealth increase during COVID-19 has become the vital source of delivering treatment to needy patients. Simultaneously, it has removed the blockage of seeking a clinic to get medical attention on an immediate basis. One more add-on it has provided to the patient is, they can check their health status, medical reports easily from the software itself.