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Wayne Imber has been a supporter of technology in medicine for most of his career and he s someone who regularly gives speeches on the benefits which new and improving technology can have on the way that patients are cared for and the way that hospitals are being ran. This is a topic which I find fascinating and at a recent tech conference I spoke to Wayne about one of the most exciting innovations in medicine which is the online doctor’s appointment. This is still very much in the early stages and has not yet been rolled out nationwide, but the early signs are certainly promising. This is a service which can help all parties involved and here are the biggest benefits which we will see.

Reduction

Hospitals are under great pressure to reduce waiting times and free up beds, something which is difficult given the influx of patients each day. One of the biggest issues here is that there are many who will go to hospital for something which doesn’t actually require the attention of the hospital staff, these people then slow down the queue whilst people who do need urgent care must wait. With these online doctors appointments we can encourage patients to be seen by the doctor online, who will then be able to determine whether or not a hospital visit is necessary.

Location

There are many people living across the USA who live very far from a doctor or hospital, or live in a remote place which makes it difficult to see their doctor. For these people they can chat abut any symptoms or concerns which they may have online with their resident doctor. Such a service would help these people’s lives immeasurably.

Wide Reaching

These online appointments will enable doctors to see patients from the other side of the country if they so wished and no longer would they be restricted to just their own county or state. This could mean that people living in areas which are undeserved by doctors, can get access to the best health care advice.

Speed

Because an online doctor doesn’t have a room to clean up each time that a patient visits, they can get through the patients with much more speed. A doctor who is attending appointments online will be able to simply end one call and start another, which will greatly increase the speed of the appointments and reduce the waiting time for others. Through this medium doctors would be able to see many more patients per hour than they are already.

Cost Saving

We could save a lot of money through these kind of appointments and then money can then be invested into hospital care, rather than doctor’s surgeries. Through an automated online system we would thus negate the need for traditional doctor’s clinics and that will save a lot of money for the healthcare industry.

This is certainly one of the most exciting medical advancements which we have seen for some time.