When you immerse yourself in the world of technology and medicine, many new terms make their appearance, it is common that in the first of change to be reading some information, we have to use the search engine to fully understand the information. By joining two worlds that have traditionally been viewed as complex and highly technical, it is perfectly valid for us to consult the information we receive. Among the key concepts with which we find ourselves are "telemedicine" and "telehealth", in practice synonyms, but when we go deeper, we realize that they have clear differences and that it is convenient to have them identified. Telehealth corresponds to the system that makes use of communication and information technologies to provide health services, medical care and information, regardless of distance, with a focus on prevention. Telehealth is a great tool for the dissemination of information on the care and prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, respiratory and, of course, epidemics. For its part, "telemedicine" is one of the most prominent, known and used branches of telehealth. "Telemedicine is the exchange of medical information. between two sites through electronic communications in order to improve the health status of a patient. It includes a growing variety of applications and services that use videoconferencing, email, smartphones, wireless communications and other forms of telecommunications technology. " So, basically, telehealth contains telemedicine, and the latter is the exchange of medical information through some means of electronic communication, between two actors who are not located in the same space, and who can be a doctor / patient, or doctor / doctor; while the first is the health system as such, making use of ICT, with special emphasis on the preventive nature. In its broadest definition, telehealth includes a full range of activities that help the patient and the general population to be healthy: prevention, promotion, diagnosis, self-care and treatment. For its part, they have created a simple framework, with which they structure all the activities related to health and the use it, where key elements such as education and monitoring of patients stand out. They also make the exception of the use of devices and applications for health care. Although telehealth and telemedicine were developed worldwide, with greater force in the 80s and 90s, it was not until the late 90s and the beginning of the new millennium that technology began to permeate Latin America. During the first ten years of work, the telehealth initiatives were led by technology enthusiasts and private organisations or companies, who saw the immense potential of the tool. The bulk of the public sector in the region has included telehealth in its public policy agenda as a key element for closing the health gap. However, there is still a long way to go before the technology is fully implemented in the health systems. While this is happening, few initiatives are committed to telehealth, and consequently to telemedicine to contribute positively to the lives, developing a robust and accessible technological platform, supported by a network of doctors who understand the health system and health needs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|