Telemedicine Visits Questions and Answers

Telemedicine is the delivery of medical services using electronic communications, such as telephones and computer networks. The term telemedicine is used to describe the practice of medicine using telecommunications to provide clinical health care from a distance, either to the patient or to another provider. Telemedicine includes the use of electronic media such as interactive video conferencing, digital images, and print materials for diagnostic purposes, patient education, and monitoring of treatment progress. It also includes remote surgery and patient-to-patient tele-consultation, as well as tele-pharmacy, remote laboratory tests, and tele-nursing.

The traditional application of telemedicine has been to help physicians and patients when the patient is unable to travel or the physician is unable to physically see the patient. It has evolved to the point that it can be a part of routine health care delivery, including diagnosis and treatment of acute problems. Remote diagnosis and treatment can be integrated with an electronic medical record, allowing access to the patient’s history and clinical information as well as access to patient-specific data, images, and laboratory results.

Virtual primary care has become much more common in recent years. This includes virtual primary care clinics, virtual primary care practitioners, and virtual office visits. Virtual primary care has experienced increased use because of declining costs, greater convenience, time savings, and the ability to connect with specialists.

Telemedicine uses technology to connect patients—who are unable to physically visit a doctor—to a healthcare provider who can diagnose and treat the patient. The healthcare provider, referred to as a telemedicine-providing physician, is able to examine a patient through video conferencing. The telemedicine-providing physician is remotely located, however, the patient can see the physician and interact with them in realtime. This allows the patient to feel as if they are actually in an office setting and can relay their concerns and ask any questions that they have to the telemedicine-providing physician.

Conditions telemedicine can treat include:

⦁ Allergies
⦁ Arthritic pain
⦁ Asthma
⦁ Bronchitis
⦁ Colds
⦁ Diarrhea
⦁ Infections
⦁ Insect bites
⦁ Sore throat
⦁ Pinkeye
⦁ Rashes
⦁ Sinus infection

Telemedicine provides the following advantages:

⦁ Comfort & Convenience — Even if the doctor’s office is a short commute, it is easier to connect with a healthcare professional from the comfort of your own home. Virtual visits can be easier to fit into a busy schedule, which is especially beneficial for parents and business professionals. Telemedicine enables many people the convenience of receiving healthcare services without taking time off work or finding a babysitter.
⦁ Control of Infectious Illness — Doctors can use telehealth appointments to prescreen patients for potentially communicable diseases to help prevent the spread of colds, flus, and other infectious diseases. It also saves symptomatic people from having to come into the office, resulting in less exposure to foreign pathogens.
⦁ Primary Care & Chronic Condition Management — Regular visits with a primary care practitioner—including family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics—are essential to each person’s health and wellbeing. Telemedicine makes it easy to connect with a healthcare professional and can connect patients to specialists, even if they are a few states away.

Mesquite Medical Clinic is dedicated to providing you with all of your telemedicine needs. Call us today to book an appointment for telemedicine, or you can also visit us in-person at 5115 N Galloway Ave #203, Mesquite, TX 75150. We serve patients from Mesquite TX, Garland TX, Dallas TX, Rowlett TX, Balch Springs TX, and Plano TX.