Online consultation-when is it worth using it?

Telemedicine - quick and easy contact with a doctor

More and more Poles are using telemedicine services. It is easier and more convenient to contact a doctor remotely to quickly consult symptoms of concern (e.g. upper respiratory tract infection, vomiting, loose stools, feverish condition), order online prescriptions, referrals for tests, or sick leave, without spending long hours in clinics or waiting weeks for an appointment with a specialist.

Easy access to specialists is especially of paramount importance for people with chronic illnesses, or who need support from a psychologist, psychiatrist or sexologist. These people require constant monitoring of their health and regular medication. Frequent contact with a doctor in their case is essential.

What's more, according to studies, telepedicine can replace up to 60% of the visits we used to make inpatient, as it does not require physical contact with a doctor.

Telemedicine saves time

We don't waste it on commuting or standing in lines. Often, once an appointment with a specialist has been made, going to the doctor involves setting aside as much as two to three hours. And thanks to telemedicine, it takes us a few minutes. This is an incomparable time savings. Especially when we want to get a prescription, a sick leave or a referral for tests, or to consult the results of tests we have previously taken and determine further treatment based on them. Similarly, in situations when we or our child need, consultation or psychological therapy. In all of the above cases, we can accomplish this remotely. Telemedicine also introduces other conveniences - for example, the service of blood tests with collection at home or other place indicated by the patient.

Short waiting time for e-visit

Any time of day or night, 24 hours a day, we can consult an internal medicine or pediatrician. And we can often schedule an appointment with a specialist for the same day or the next.

"Personally, as a pediatrician, I sometimes give online consultations late at night when a child has a fever, acute diarrhea or vomiting. This is a very great comfort for a parent who is stressed by their child's condition and doesn't know whether the matter is already so serious that they should go to the emergency room, or whether the advice of a doctor who will tell us exactly what we can do in the case at home is enough. It's as if we have our own private doctor at hand, who will always support us with a professional consultation, order additional tests or interpret the sent results and recommend treatment," explains lek. Lukasz Durajski, medical director of Med24.

Telemedicine facilitates access to doctors of various narrow specialties

Thanks to telemedicine, we have the possibility of constant contact with doctors of various specialties, with whom we can make an appointment without a long wait and without a referral, from anywhere in Poland and the world. This is a great convenience, especially in accessing doctors of narrow specialties who do not accept in our locality or neighborhood. This is of great importance in the case of smaller towns or villages. A patient can make an appointment with, for example, a gynecologist, cardiologist, allergologist, phlebologist, who deals with vein diseases, or hypertensiologist, who specializes in high blood pressure.

What's more, when we are away, we are on vacation in the country or abroad, we do not have to look for a doctor in a particular place. When traveling abroad, the need to communicate in a foreign language, which often creates a barrier to accurately describing ailments, goes away. Sometimes we simply want to confirm the diagnosis and recommendations of a local doctor in a conversation with a Polish specialist. All these problems can be solved thanks to telemedicine.

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What can we consult via the telemedicine platform?

"For any health condition that concerns us, bothersome ailments, except of course for sudden acute, life-threatening ailments. Then we call 112, call an ambulance or go to the ED. In all others, we can use telemedicine advice. When a nagging rash, upper respiratory tract infection, stomach problems, or even gynecological or orthopedic problems arise. These examples can be listed endlessly." - says Dr. Luke Durajski, medical director of Med24

Medical platforms, such as Med24, offer access to internists and pediatricians 24 hours a day, which gives us speed of response to a problem that has just arisen. We order an appointment, which takes place within 15 minutes of confirmation. This allows us to see almost immediately how serious the problem is. The doctor will help us decide whether we need to order further tests or go to the ED, or whether we can manage on our own, following the recommendations he gives. This is an excellent solution especially for parents with small children, elderly people who find it difficult to move around. It's also a great convenience for all busy people who find it hard to carve out time and often neglect various initial symptoms, later turning into an acute condition. The good old rule is - prevention is better than cure.

Additionally, telemedicine is perfect for various types of dietary, psychological, psychiatric or sexological therapies. In a safe environment of the patient's choice, he or she can take part in sessions with a psychologist, including therapy for various addictions or disorders, so common nowadays, unfortunately, and still underestimated. We do not undertake therapy, explaining the lack of time or difficult access to specialists. Telemedicine solves these problems.

Through an online consultation, you can quickly obtain an e-prescription for continuing treatment

If you quickly need the medications you take on a regular basis, e prescriptions can be obtained in as little as 15 minutes. This is a very great convenience for all chronically ill patients and women using contraception. It happens to each of us to remember at the last minute that we are about to run out of medicine, and we have to wait several days or even longer for a doctor's appointment. All we have to do is select an e-prescription appointment in the app or on the website and receive it in a few minutes by email and text message. This saves us the stress of possible interruption of treatment and we don't waste time driving to the clinic.

Sick leave and referral for tests can be obtained through an online consultation

When we need a sick leave, referral for tests, we can get them during the consultation, as long as the doctor in the course of the consultation determines the need. During the online consultation, we discuss all of our ailments with the doctor, and at the end of the consultation we receive a sick leave or a referral for relevant tests. In addition, we are also able to consult the results of the tests we have performed without leaving home. We send them via an app or website, before the visit, so the doctor can review them, and then during the consultation, conducting a medical history, he will recommend further treatment. A service is also available in the form of blood tests with collection at home or at another location designated by the patient.

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Telemedicine provides ongoing follow-up with a doctor or therapist for people with chronic illnesses or undergoing treatment

For chronic illnesses, regular medication, ongoing medical follow-up and monitoring of test results are key to a patient's treatment. When new symptoms appear, we can seek medical advice at any time, without leaving home. When the information gathered by the doctor is insufficient, then he will refer the patient for additional tests or an inpatient visit. But it also often turns out that an online consultation is completely sufficient, and then it allows us to quickly deal with the problem.

Similarly with various types of therapy, where regular contact with a therapist is very important. We are talking about psychological, sexological and dietary therapies. Even when we do not have the opportunity to leave home, we can meet with a specialist online - discreetly and in a friendly environment. Such contact via phone or video call may be preferred by some patients. It is easier for us to open up and talk about our problems in such an environment.

Telemedicine for the health of children and seniors

We have many pediatric specialists and pediatricians available 24/7 at Med24. This is an excellent alternative to an in-patient visit: saving time, reducing stress and guaranteeing immediate help whenever you need it for your child.

It is also possible to add an adult, such as an elderly sick neighbor who may have a problem with new technologies. In this case, we give the phone number of the person we register and make an appointment, and they can already talk to the doctor on their own, without our participation. In this way, we can have medical service for the whole family under one profile. After a completed visit, referrals for tests and e-prescriptions are sent to an e-mail address (e-prescriptions are also sent by text message).

Telemedicine supports preventive health care

We are constantly busy, preoccupied with our daily duties, and we forget how important prevention is for our health. Even if there is nothing worrying going on, it is important to remember to have regular checkups. After all, the annual inspection of our car is mandatory. Without a stamp in the registration certificate, we can't drive it. We should approach our body in a similar way. Let's give it an inspection once a year. In the case of many diseases, their early detection gives a chance for a complete cure. Meanwhile, surveys show that as many as 72% of Poles consider themselves healthy. Why don't most of us perform preventive examinations? We usually explain it by lack of time, not feeling ailments, difficulties in accessing doctors.

Thanks to telemedicine, we can no longer wriggle out of lack of time. We can have a 20-minute online consultation, during which the doctor will conduct a history and order tests, at home. It is also possible to order a blood draw for testing, without leaving home. And then also through the online consultation, remotely discuss the results with the doctor. This entire process, in the traditional way involving two visits to the doctor and a visit to the collection center, would take us many hours, spread over several days.

It is worth remembering, especially since early detection of cancer allows not only, most importantly, a greater likelihood of a complete cure, but also avoids mutilating treatments. In turn, early detection of diabetes avoids very life-threatening health complications that result in: heart attack, stroke, kidney damage, retinal damage or foot amputation.

Thanks to telemedicine, prevention becomes quick and simple, and taking care of your health and that of your loved ones no longer has to be associated with queues, stress and difficult access to many specialists. Telemedicine is an excellent example of how the development of technology serves people and their well-being. You just need to be willing to take advantage of it.

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