By Jennifer Bradley, Staff Writer
In addition to a computer, monitor on a
moveable arm and video-conferencing system, the
equipment present at the nursing home site
includes an electronic stethoscope, otoscope,
dermascope, dentalscope and EKG. These are
located on a rollabout, allowing it to be taken
to a resident’s bedside if necessary. Another
important benefit is the ability of the
patient’s family to be involved, even from a
distance, through the online video conference.
Tomorrow’s Telemedicine
The ATSP says "The future of telehealth
depends less on technology than on politics."
The technology is readily available for
telemedicine to have a major impact on the
country’s health care industry. Now, government
programs, telecommunications law and insurance
reimbursements, all funding for the industry’s
professionals, are sitting on the hill of major
decisions.
"The consumer is a key player in the future
of telehealth," says the organization. "If
people understand what telemedicine is, see it
as having value, and insist that they have
access to it, governments, employers, and
insurance companies will make it feasible."
IBM projects that in five years from now, a
computer-generated, three-dimensional image of a
patient’s body will be available for the
physician to click on a body part and see lab
results and other records.
In another future role of telemedicine, a new
software will allow a patient’s blood glucose
levels or blood pressure, among other readings,
to be transmitted to their personal cell phone.
The phone acts as a "hub, collecting readings,
then transmitting the information in real time
to a central server," says an article on
futurehealthcareus.com.
The patient’s physician has thresholds set,
and the person’s phone may give an alert if the
readings are high or low. Teenagers may want a
text message sent to them while older people a
phone call. This technology is an ideal way for
monitoring those with chronic conditions who
lead active lifestyles.
Whether monitoring vitals at home, on the
person themselves, or taking part in real-time
video examinations or even surgeries from a
distance, the future of telemedicine is a wide,
expanding horizon. In the coming years, this
technology will impact all of us in some way or
another, as caregivers and the people we care
for.
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