A telemedicine is a simple process where neither the patient(s) nor the doctor needs to go out of the home but can attend to each other over the new age video call applications like Skype. According to the new bill passed by the House Professional Licensure Committee, telemedicine is being expanded. With the obesity cases in 7 states, this is quite a boon. Learn more about 35% obesity cases in the seven states.
Why Is The Bill Important?
While defining Telemedicine, the requirements of licensing, and payment of reimbursement by the healthcare payers for the telemedicine services should be considered. According to AARP Pennsylvania’s state director Bill Johnston-Walsh, The bill will be excellent for the 2 million members and especially those who hail from the urban areas and rural areas.
Around eight lakhs inhabitants of Pennsylvania are deprived of high-speed connection of internet. The advocacy group of Pennsylvania State Grange works particularly for the Pennsylvanians in the rural sectors and they are demanding a companion bill by which Telemedicine can reach out to wider region through proper bandwidth connection and universal broadband.
Benefits Of Telemedicine
Telemedicine or Telehealth was accessible in 38 states with Columbia district where insurers are legally bound to offer care through services via laptops, smartphones, tablets and other such electronic gadgets.
- Telemedicine has been proved to be quite handy in different healthcare conditions like burn care, stroke care, neurology, pediatric oncology etc.
- No matter what the location of the patient or the doctor is, Telemedicine helps the doctors to diagnose even the serious health problems over video call and offer medical attention online with prescribed treatments. In case the doctor faced any problem, the patient was referred to other specialists.
- In various health centers and hospitals, the professionals have been offering healthcare services with Telemedicine such as post operation checkups, management of chronic disease, counseling of behavioral health apart from treatment of the minor ailments
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Although there is a doubt among the healthcare service providers about the surety of the insurers in investing for those services, the Pennsylvania Senate has passed the Senate Bill 780 that established some ground rules which define key components of the Telemedicine and set licensing requirements so that it is made sure only appropriate professionals are appointed for attending the Telemedicine patients.
