The digital revolution continues to disrupt our daily lives and the health sector is naturally no exception to the rule. On the contrary, he is in reality one of the leading figures of this change and it seems that we are still far from having seen everything. So how did telemedicine emerge as the new standard in the healthcare consultation industry? Without further ado, here are some answers.
Telemedicine: a not-so-new practice
If the democratization of telemedicine is relatively recent, the basic idea, namely the fact of offering medical or paramedical procedures remotely, has existed, so to speak, for as long as the means of telecommunications, that is to say almost a century. Naturally, the practice was most of the time limited to extremely basic functions such as the exchange of vocal or written information (telegraph, telephone, minitel). However, the advent of the internet from the mid-1990s, but especially from the early 2000s, was a giant step forward in the possibilities offered by telemedicine. This decisive turning point first made it possible to move from simple telephone or text exchanges to video format, thereby opening the way to video teleconsultation. That’s not all, the speed of data transmission, coupled with other innovative technologies, now makes it possible to perform surgical operations remotely (telesurgery) or even to monitor a patient’s vital functions using objects. connected. This is in particular a huge advance for the real-time monitoring of the glycemic level of people with diabetes (and not only).
The Covid-19 pandemic as a major accelerator of the democratization of telemedicine
The unprecedented health crisis that the world experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic was an upheaval of all our habits. The need to reduce physical contact and the risks of transmission as much as possible has led, if not forced, to rethink certain everyday actions. This was the case with work, transformed for the occasion into teleworking each time the option was technically feasible. Telemedicine has followed the same path with an unprecedented generalization of medical teleconsultations. The possibility of being able to speak with a doctor from the comfort of home has convinced patients and doctors alike, even beyond the cork parenthesis in the context of the pandemic. This relatively marginal option until then has become in a few months a form of new norm and the solution to many post-pandemic ills such as the problem of medical deserts or even the obstacle course that logistics represents for certain patients. In such a context, it is not surprising that teleconsultation platforms like DoktorABC, Livi, Quare, etc. have flourished like never before. Each offers its services in its own way (video consultation, online questionnaire, online prescription issuance, medical advice, etc.), DoktorABC offers, for example, recommendations on the use of various medications, information on side effects, descriptions of active ingredients as well as a multitude of similar content.
and as in any competitive sector, patients only have to make their choice based on their preferences and affinities. Gone are the days when telemedicine was an almost confidential practice reserved for rare and special cases; it is now a medical practice in its own right.
A relative return to normal, but future prospects that leave one dreaming
While it is undeniable that the period relating to the Covid-19 pandemic was an impressive accelerator for the democratization of telemedicine, the return to normal has gradually been felt. Just like teleworking is once again losing ground, telemedicine has not returned to anonymity, far from it. On the other hand, some habits die hard. Thus, despite teleconsultation figures remaining at completely respectable levels, the peaks recorded during the pandemic have passed. From now on, the latter only represent 2 to 3% of medical consultations, which still represents nearly a million monthly teleconsultations. The reasons for this relative return to normal (beyond the end of the pandemic) are multiple. It is above all a question of habit, to the extent that some patients (especially seniors) generally prefer to stick to what is familiar to them through traditional consultations. Some may also encounter technical difficulties in using digital tools. Finally, telemedicine still encounters some medical limits to the extent that certain examinations still require the physical presence of the patient. However, the obstacles seem to be gradually being overcome at all levels. First of all, digitalization continues its irresistible march forward, both among health professionals and the general public with the generalization of high-speed internet even in remote areas and the arrival of a generation having grown up with digital tools. Finally, the acceleration of internet speeds coupled with new technologies such as AI, robotics, intelligent connected objects, etc. open up a dizzying field of possibilities for telemedicine.
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