Virtual medicine post COVID-19

How doctors treat patients is evolving and after the Covid-19 pandemic new trend emerged in an exponential way. Virtual medicine or telehealth service has taken a main role in diagnostics and treatment of patients and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved its use to reduce staff exposure, preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), and minimize the impact of patient surges on facilities. While this technology is not new, during the Covid-19 pandemic there was a surge of users.

What is telehealth?

Telehealth “is defined as the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration. Technologies include video conferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.”

What are the main types of telehealth?

There are three main types of telehealth: synchronous, asynchronous, and remote patient monitoring.

1. Synchronous will include real-time telephone or live audio-video interaction, through a computer, tablet, or smart phone.

2. Asynchronous, includes technology where messages, images or data are collected for evaluation and interpretation.

3. Remote patient monitoring allows for transmission of information and measurements during real time or non-real time methods.

Telehealth and Medical Tourism

Before the pandemic, the most common method to treat patients in the medical tourism industry was using telehealth in an asynchronous way, were patients sent medical professionals their medical records for evaluation. But now a day the implementation of other types of telehealth should be part of the daily routine. Doctors all over Costa Rica who are part of the Medical Tourism industry should incorporate telehealth as part of their pre- and post operative care.

Luckily, this type of technology can easily be adjusted to the Medical Tourism Industry and as more patients get familiarize with the technology more benefits will bring to the industry. Patient can have the opportunity to get to know the doctors beforehand, have real-time telephone or live audio-video interaction with doctors for diagnostics, and have the doctor monitor its progress after the treatment is done when they return to their country. At the same time, the medical professional can coordinate with the patient’s local primary care providers and specialists and make them part of the whole process.

Increasing the usage of telehealth service into the Medical Tourism Industry can also open opportunities for both patients and medical professionals as quality, efficiency and customer service can be better coordinated enhancing preoperative and postoperative care thus optimizing travel.

Even though telehealth has been available for years, the Covid-19 pandemic made doctors use the technology and make it part of their daily activity.