Access to Specialist Care: How Tele-consultation is Making Halthcare Equitable

The disparity in quality and access to health care has been a problem plaguing in India for decades. Various causes contribute to this discrepancy, ranging from a lack of resources to geographical inaccessibility. Fortunately, Tele-consultation can potentially improve healthcare equity by allowing those who might otherwise be rebuffed access to specialist care. Among its primary benefits, teleconsultation eliminates geographic and financial barriers, allowing for real-time medical advice and treatment, even in remote areas. This can enhance access to care in underprivileged areas. The global market for these services is projected to reach $15 Billion by 2025, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 25% and reduce the cost of healthcare by up to 35%.

Understanding the Need for Improved Access to Specialist Care: Improved access to specialist care is becoming increasingly important in the global healthcare environment. Through improved access to specialist care, individuals and healthcare systems can benefit from the availability of subspecialty expertise. Specialists have more in-depth knowledge about specific medical conditions and can provide additional calming care throughout a patient's illness. They can assess a condition more accurately, as well as provide more targeted treatment plans for better and faster results.

Through tele-consultation, specialists from metro cities or across international borders can virtually connect with general physicians, enabling them to exchange diagnostic information, discuss treatment options, and recommend courses of action. Additionally, it also helps in providing access to second opinions from expert doctors within a shorter timeframe. This can be helpful in case of critical medical conditions, where timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment can be the difference between life and death.

The Rise of Tele-consultation: The healthcare industry is constantly evolving to provide more equitable and accessible care to people of all backgrounds. Tele-consultation has grown in popularity as a means of making this goal a reality, allowing people to receive specialist treatment from anywhere in the world. By taking advantage of advanced technology, people have greater access to potentially life-saving medical advice and treatments that may not always be readily available in their area.

The technology improves the quality of care and patient outcomes, as it provides access to specialist consultations that would have otherwise been impossible or extremely expensive. It facilitates access to additional diagnostic tests that could benefit a patient's diagnosis or treatment. This, in turn, can lead to earlier detection and diagnosis of disease, which can have a huge impact on the health of the patient.

Overcoming Barriers with Tele-consultation: Tele-consultation can give a much-needed lifeline to better quality and more specialised treatment for those living in rural or remote places. It eliminates the need for time-consuming and frequently expensive travel and even alleviates feelings of isolation when it comes to obtaining medical advice. It can provide access to healthcare to all regions of the world, including the most underserved places if the necessary infrastructure and personnel are in place.

Additionally, it reduces cultural and linguistic barriers between healthcare providers and their patients. Some patients may find it unpleasant or intimidating to ask certain questions or undergo specific treatments in person due to language and cultural issues. With teleconsultation, patients can ask their doctor questions, and the doctor can provide them with the care they need without feeling uncomfortable.

Ensuring Equitable Tele-consultation Access: It also enables healthcare practitioners to communicate with specialists in distant areas without requiring their patients to travel. This not only ensures that individuals from all backgrounds can access quality healthcare but also eliminates the need to put additional strain on already strained hospitals and healthcare systems. This method of communication reduces the need for multiple doctor visits for a single diagnosis, making the procedure considerably more efficient.

Impact of Tele-consultation: Seamless technology helps healthcare practitioners to keep up with the latest advances in medical care and technology by enabling them to consult with other specialists from across the globe. Healthcare providers can ask their colleagues and receive assistance on difficult cases without having to leave their own location. This enables them to offer better care to all patients, regardless of their geographic location or economic status.

This also increases the efficiency of healthcare delivery. Healthcare professionals can assess, diagnose, and treat patients quickly and accurately, eliminating the need for multiple consultations and referrals. This minimises waiting times, allowing resources to be deployed elsewhere and more patients to be served. As a result, it not only expands access to healthcare but also accelerates its delivery.

By improving access to specialist care, Tele-consultation is making healthcare more equitable. It is a technology that offers a potential solution by providing access to specialists and giving patients more control over their own health decisions. Through this, patients can receive the highest quality care while healthcare practitioners can stay up-to-date with the latest medical advances. In this way, Tele-consultation is helping to bridge the geographic gap in healthcare by making it accessible to all.

—  Arindam Sen, Director, i2i Telesolutions