The telemedicine job is simply about providing health care services through electronic means and using telecommunication technologies.
Before one could have a Telemedicine job, such a person should have studied medicine or any other medical course in a high institution and have obtained a valid license to practice medicine as a profession.
However, when you talk about remote clinical services such as diagnosis and monitoring, you refer to the “Telemedicine job”.
Telehealth vs. Telemedicine Job
Although the terms “Telemedicine” and “Telehealth” are frequently used interchangeably, Telehealth is used more broadly for remote health care, which doesn’t involve active clinical treatments.
Telemedicine can also be called eHealth, but eHealth is mostly used in places like the UK and Europe. In 2002, someone helped manage the University of Texas Medical Branch(UTMB) Telemedicine program; the person also co-founded “Teledoc” in Dallas, Texas, later launched in 2005 as the first-ever national Telemedicine provider.
This great achiever is Dr. G. Byron Brooks, and he was a former NASA Surgeon and an Engineer. Similarly, the world’s first medical facility devoted exclusively to telemedicine happened in 2015 when Mercy Health System opened in Mercy Virtual in Chesterfield, Missouri.
Easy access to portable communication devices like mobile phones and laptops made telemedicine acceptable. These days, telemedicine involves employing peripheral devices and software to promote health awareness, prevention, care, and education.
Health care providers have found other ways to deliver telemedicine jobs efficiently. For example, it can enhance disaster emergency response service in many ways, which include;
- Biological surveillance.
- Patient record management.
- Care provider database management.
- Advanced volunteer registration.
- Hospital bed availability tracking.
Telemedicine can be viewed as the natural evolution of technological improvements in the healthcare sector; this was proven by a targeted study by the US Department of commerce.
Telemedicine shouldn’t just be practiced in every community. Still, it should also be promoted, supported, and encouraged, just like in Europe and Australia, where extensive telemedicine acceptance prevails among healthcare providers or medical practitioners.
The Australian government has also supported and sponsored an initiative named the “National E. Health Transition Authority(NEHTA)” to improve standards and infrastructure supporting telemedicine.
Even in the United States, Health agencies have successfully launched similar initiatives like America’s Health Information Community, The Continua Health Alliance, The United States Health Information, and The National eHealth Initiative.
At the global level, the World Health Organization(WHO) sponsors the e-Health Care Delivery(eHCD) program, which was initiated to advance telemedicine in e-prescriptions, medical tele-consulting, and medical information management.
Benefits of Telemedicine Job:
- Telemedicine jobs play an important role in our societies today, especially in rural areas. There are bad roads, lack of transportation, unfavourable conditions caused by outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics, insufficient funding, and lack of mobility.
- Telemedicine jobs also provide long-distance learning or online learning services, including meetings, online supervision, and presentation between medical professionals, sharing information online about health management, and healthcare system integration.
- The telemedicine job is mainly beneficial to those patients in undeveloped communities who can get health care services from specialists or doctors far away from them without the patient having to meet the doctor in person.
- Mobile technology has now made it possible for healthcare practitioners in different locations to communicate, share information and talk about patient issues as if they were in the same place.
- Patients with limited mobility also prefer and benefit from telemedicine. Telemedicine also makes medical education easy by providing a platform where workers can observe experts in their fields and easily share with themselves best practices.
- Telemedicine completely makes the transmission of infectious diseases or parasites between medical practitioners and their patients impossible.
- Medical professionals who use the Telemedicine approach have observed improvements in results among underserved groups.
- Chronic medical conditions like obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and diabetes can also be treated by specialists using telemedicine technology to save time, energy and minimize expenses.
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Things you need to do before applying/starting Telemedicine Job
After earning a medical degree and acquiring a valid license to practice medicine, you still need to do the following to succeed in the Telemedicine job.
- Get trained on how to operate the technologies and equipment used in Telemedicine. That is, choose the right Telemedicine solution you want to practice.
- Research on Telemedicine policy in your state because each state has different policies and requirements on how Telemedicine should be practiced.
- It would help if you also decided on your billing policy. Then proceed to create your Telemedicine program workflows.
- Plan on how you will provide tech support since technology is the major platform for your job. However, ensure you have the technical, nursing, and administrative support before you apply for any Telemedicine job.
- When applying for any Telemedicine job is very necessary to consider those standards you would consider if you are applying for any other medical job, with more emphasis on tech support.
- Any Telemedicine job you choose should provide networking tech support at all times because technology is the only means you have to connect to your patients in a Telemedicine job.
- You can’t give them the help they require of you without outstanding technology.
- If Telemedicine will be your full-time job and the only source of income, you have to settle with a Telemedicine company with many patients to attend to.
- Some Telemedicine jobs handle your malpractice coverage as part of their employment package, but you have to ask to be sure. If they don’t, you have to take care of your malpractice coverage and ensure it covers you for Telemedicine.
- You also need to get a license from any state your patients will call from. That’s why some Telemedicine companies assist their Telemedicine physicians in obtaining licenses from different states.
Popular Telemedicine companies:
Telemedicine involves diagnosing and treating minor, non-emergency, non-threatening cases such as flu symptoms, ear infections, fever, malaria, minor injuries, and abrasions.
As a Telemedicine provider, the healthcare services you offer should be thorough and pocket-friendly for your patients. Telemedicine jobs allow one to work part-time or full-time and allow you to make your schedule, especially when you have your own company.
Some Telemedicine services are provided by insurers, doctors, or physicians in hospitals within their patient services. Some private companies and organizations provide Telemedicine services too. Below are few Telemedicine companies with their headquarters.
- Better Health; Its headquarters is in Mountain View, California.
- Forefront Telecare; Headquarters is in Hamilton, New Jersey.
- Breakthrough; Its headquarters is in Redwood City, California.
- Talkspace; Its headquarters are in New York, New York.
- SteadyMD; Its headquarters is in St Louis, Missouri.
- Equality Health; Its headquarters is in Phoenix.
- Dr. First; Its headquarters are in Rockville, Maryland.
- Doctor on Demand; Its headquarters is in San Francisco, California.
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Common Types Of Telemedicine Job
The telemedicine job is currently widespread. It is spreading globally because of the convenience, low cost, and easy access it offers. If you enjoy your space and like being/working alone, then the Telemedicine job is suitable for you.
Currently, in the world today, Telemedicine is not just for people in rural communities or people who have problems with transportation, for example, disabled and older people.
Nowadays, youths and people in urban settlements have started embracing telemedicine while it keeps growing speedily. According to Zip Recruiter, the average Telemedicine physician’s salary in the US is $216,958.
Some pay per hour, averaging between $100 and $150, while others pay per consult, averaging between $15 and $30. As Telemedicine expands, it has become obvious which field fits well with Telemedicine.
The following are the major types of specialty with a wide practice:
- Telepathology; meant for pathologists to provide diagnosis, research, and education.
- TeleCardiology; With this, EKGs can be transmitted electronically for remote consultation by cardiology specialists.
- Telepsychology and Telepsychiatry; This helps patients who live in rural areas to obtain the psychiatric care they need and take care of their mental health.
- Teleradiology; Here, radiologists offer their services from home or office without meeting with their patients.
Others include; Telemedicine Pediatricians, Telemedicine Gastroenterologists, and Telemedicine Endocrinologists.
People with the following abilities always do well in Telemedicine Jobs
People with initiatives: These people work independently because Telemedicine jobs permit doctors and other healthcare providers to work from home.
People that have good communication skills: Since Telemedicine is all about communicating with your patients using video conferencing, you should be able to speak clearly and loudly, listening attentively to assimilate what your patients tell you, also paying close attention to their body language and facial reaction.
People that their confidence can’t be questioned: To do well in any Telemedicine job, you should be confident enough to trust and believe in your abilities and always rely on your medical training.
For people that are good at multitasking, most health care jobs require multitasking which Telemedicine job is not an exception.
You should prioritize needs quickly in order to most important and skillfully handle the high call volume. All these could be possible only when one can multitask.
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Conclusion:
Telemedicine doesn’t just occur between medical practitioners and patients; sometimes, it occurs between a medical professional and a fellow medical practitioner.
A good example is when a radiologist got imaging studies through electronic means, went through them, and sent the diagnosis back to the requesting medical practitioner.
Also, note that you won’t be able to find a Telemedicine job without a valid medical license. To get a medical license, you have to complete your medical training and get certified, pass a residency medical program, then go for the United States Medical Licensing Examination(USMLE).
You also have to apply for a license in the state you want to practice medicine.
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