My guest today is Dr. Daffar Aditi. Dr. Daffar is a public health expert with commendable achievements in community health in India, Pakistan, Syria, the United States, and Haiti. Dr. Daffar and I discuss telehealth and how he used technology to reach out to millions of patients around the world.
Did you know you can consult, talk, text, and video chat with your doctor and receive your lab results on your cell phone 24/7 and wherever you are? This, my friend, is called telehealth.
If you want to know more about telehealth and how it is changing healthcare delivery and access to care, check out my latest podcast on azazel.info. Telehealth: Your cellphone is your clinic.
My guest today is Dr. Daffar Aditi. Dr. Daffar is a public health expert with commendable achievements in community health in India, Pakistan, Syria, the United States and Haiti. Dr. Daffar and I discuss telehealth and how he used technology to reach out to millions of patients around the world.
Dr. Daffar, in your own words, what is telehealth?
Hello to all, and thanks for having me as your guest Dr. Rousseau. Before I delve further, let me give you my opinion about telehealth. I love telehealth because it brings medical care to places and patients that otherwise would have never had access to healthcare, providers, or medical facilities. I have patients who live in rural areas which are now receiving care for the first time in their lives. Trust me, Dr. Rousseau, it is rewarding. I urge governments to fund projects aiming at bringing such a revolutionary medical tool to remote or low-provider availability areas.
Excellent, Thank you for sharing this with me, Dr. Daffar.
You are welcome Dr. Rousseau. Telehealth delivers health care, education, and information services via remote technologies. Telehealth allows patients to consult health care providers, mental health counselors, or nurses via online videos or phone chats, whether at home, at work, or even in their car.
Dr. Rousseau, you use the right words, timely and convenient. Telehealth is convenient because it reduces ER utilization. With telehealth, patients no longer have to visit the clinic or the hospital for a minor headache or wait to get an appointment. They can log in to the virtual platform to book and receive remote appointments as soon as possible.
Dr. Daffar, you mentioned earlier that telehealth could improve access to care in remote areas; can you expand on that?
Telehealth improves access to care for everyone, whether rich or poor, whether they can drive to a medical center or whether there is a medical facility or providers near them. The real benefit of telehealth is that patients can use their cell phones to consult any doctor and, in various instances, 24/7. This means that people, regardless of their status or geographical location, have the opportunity to take care of their care. Many hospitals offer this service to their patients at low or no additional cost. Still, lately, I have seen individual doctors, NGOs, and even social entrepreneurs offering telehealth to underdeveloped neighborhoods.
Dr. Daffar, I understand your statement, but my concern is social communication and outreach. Before we talk about how remote patients become aware of this program, do you foresee telehealth replacing face-to-face consultations and traditional hospitalizations?
Oh no. never, because telehealth mostly focuses on non-life-threatening conditions. Patients are still required to go to emergency rooms for life-threatening diseases. Telehealth might be able to treat a patient with a headache or a skin rash, but it will not treat a patient with stroke, AVC, or cardiac arrest. Face-to-face consults and hospitalizations will never go away.
Dr. Daffar, how do follow-ups work with telehealth? Do patients have to come to a clinic to get their lab results?
Another benefit of telehealth is that providers can order labs and X-Rays. They can also read the results to patients over the phone and provide referrals to patients if necessary. Using telehealth, providers can also prescribe medications to pharmacies nearest to the patients and even talk to mental health patients. Therefore, the patients will return or ever visit a clinic if only their health requires it.
Thanks for your time Dr. Daffar. That was insightful. We must encourage more people to sign up for telehealth because it offers shorter waiting times and allows patients to get care in the comfort of their homes.
See you next time.
Thanks
If you want to know more about telehealth and how it is changing healthcare delivery and access to care, check out my latest podcast on azazel.info. Telehealth: Your cellphone is your clinic.
My guest today is Dr. Daffar Aditi. Dr. Daffar is a public health expert with commendable achievements in community health in India, Pakistan, Syria, the United States and Haiti. Dr. Daffar and I discuss telehealth and how he used technology to reach out to millions of patients around the world.
Dr. Daffar, in your own words, what is telehealth?
Hello to all, and thanks for having me as your guest Dr. Rousseau. Before I delve further, let me give you my opinion about telehealth. I love telehealth because it brings medical care to places and patients that otherwise would have never had access to healthcare, providers, or medical facilities. I have patients who live in rural areas which are now receiving care for the first time in their lives. Trust me, Dr. Rousseau, it is rewarding. I urge governments to fund projects aiming at bringing such a revolutionary medical tool to remote or low-provider availability areas.
Excellent, Thank you for sharing this with me, Dr. Daffar.
You are welcome Dr. Rousseau. Telehealth delivers health care, education, and information services via remote technologies. Telehealth allows patients to consult health care providers, mental health counselors, or nurses via online videos or phone chats, whether at home, at work, or even in their car.
Dr. Rousseau, you use the right words, timely and convenient. Telehealth is convenient because it reduces ER utilization. With telehealth, patients no longer have to visit the clinic or the hospital for a minor headache or wait to get an appointment. They can log in to the virtual platform to book and receive remote appointments as soon as possible.
Dr. Daffar, you mentioned earlier that telehealth could improve access to care in remote areas; can you expand on that?
Telehealth improves access to care for everyone, whether rich or poor, whether they can drive to a medical center or whether there is a medical facility or providers near them. The real benefit of telehealth is that patients can use their cell phones to consult any doctor and, in various instances, 24/7. This means that people, regardless of their status or geographical location, have the opportunity to take care of their care. Many hospitals offer this service to their patients at low or no additional cost. Still, lately, I have seen individual doctors, NGOs, and even social entrepreneurs offering telehealth to underdeveloped neighborhoods.
Dr. Daffar, I understand your statement, but my concern is social communication and outreach. Before we talk about how remote patients become aware of this program, do you foresee telehealth replacing face-to-face consultations and traditional hospitalizations?
Oh no. never, because telehealth mostly focuses on non-life-threatening conditions. Patients are still required to go to emergency rooms for life-threatening diseases. Telehealth might be able to treat a patient with a headache or a skin rash, but it will not treat a patient with stroke, AVC, or cardiac arrest. Face-to-face consults and hospitalizations will never go away.
Dr. Daffar, how do follow-ups work with telehealth? Do patients have to come to a clinic to get their lab results?
Another benefit of telehealth is that providers can order labs and X-Rays. They can also read the results to patients over the phone and provide referrals to patients if necessary. Using telehealth, providers can also prescribe medications to pharmacies nearest to the patients and even talk to mental health patients. Therefore, the patients will return or ever visit a clinic if only their health requires it.
Thanks for your time Dr. Daffar. That was insightful. We must encourage more people to sign up for telehealth because it offers shorter waiting times and allows patients to get care in the comfort of their homes.
See you next time.
Thanks