Question

As a patient, would you prefer a telehealth or a
face-to-face consultation? Why?

Now imagine that you are an accident victim brought
to a rural clinic staffed only with paraprofessionals.
Does the answer change? If so, why?

Answer 1

• Advantages of telehealth
• A telehealth works by monitoring vital signs and important datas of patient and wired through electronic devices and telecommunication technologies
• It allows patient and a health care professional to interact from a long distance
• It enhances monitoring, educating, reminding, advising, applying interventions and rural admissions through communication between a client and a health care professional
• It is an opportunity for a higher specialist to diagnose a difficult case. It also helps two specialists/ clinicians to communicate via video conference to discuss a particular disease
• In a rural settings, it is a solace for elderly and disabled people, where there is no transport and proper facilities
• It is a fact that, telehealth promotes home monitoring through continuous sending of patient health data.
• It is a platform for a client to clarify his/her doubts with the concerned practitioner through video conference
• Sometimes telehealth helps to overcome shortage of clinical staffs
• Telehealth saves time, energy and money
• Telehealth required high band width, broad band connection, which also includes wires, cables, microwaves and optic fibre
• Disadvantages of telehealth
• It is doubtful, whether a practitioner is using his/her skills properly
• There is no opportunity for physical examination. Everything depends on investigations
• As different guidelines and policies followed in different areas, it must be difficult or confused for a consultant or a practitioner to follow.
• Difficulty to determine mental factor of a patient
• Lack of agreed standards
• Cosulting patients from different culture
• Confidential medical informations can be leaked
• There is a risk of faulty treatments
• Answer
• As a patient it is better to have a face to face consultations
• Reasons
• It provides an opportunity to give consent. The question of informed consent is difficult in telehealth practice
• What will happen, if there is a low internet speed or server problem, In this scenario, as it is a accident case, he needs not only paraprofessionals but also emergency specialised practitioner.
• Physical examination is difficult
• A Chance for faulty treatment due to low quality CT Scan, MRI and X rays
• Sometimes it might take longer time to connect
• If a patient needs immediate surgery, how a paraprofessional can manage
• The patient is not having an opportunity to know about the consultant
• If the patient is bleeding heavily that may leads to shock, is an emergency situation that needs a specilaised person who is experienced in intubation followed by emergency care. He/ she also should be trained to provide accurate treatment during emergency situations without any second thought.
• A paraprofessional is not authorised to prescribe medications and order fluids
• A paraprofessional cannot insert a cannula unless he is a certified to do so