Final project thoughts

Telemedicine is not necessarily something brand new, but it is becoming a lot more prominent in this age with the increase in technology overall. Telemedicine is defined by the one-and-only Google as "the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology." It's actually quite genius! Doctors can diagnose patients at the convenience of the patients. They can be anywhere, at any time and a doctor can help them. However, there is a conflict among those who want to expand telemedicine and those who aren't ready for this change and are fighting it for many different reasons. It’s genius, but there are plenty of kinks in the notion of the system.

  

In an article from MHealth Intelligence called "New Telehealth Training Center Aims to be a National resource, they discussed this conflict. The article talked about how the biggest problem with telemedicine is the lack of qualified professionals, which in turn results in a lack of trust for the programs around the country. Some think the country simply isn't ready for this technology, others want to push it. Some think people just need to be taught how to use telemedicine; however, this is easier said than done. The reason for this is because providers aren't sure if they need to take the time to train and incorporate telemedicine into the lives and workdays of all healthcare professionals, or if they should just sneak it into the system and slowly let everybody catch on. The platform cannot be described, preventing good programs from pulling through. Despite the fact that they have the goal to make healthcare better through telemedicine, they cannot do that without being to do the little things first: familiarity with technology, willingness to take time to use and learn the technology, and a compassion for a person you have no physical connection with. This is obviously a struggle for a lot of people. Just imagine the veteran doctors, the ones who tell stories about "When I was younger..." that usually include some moral about how technology is taking over the world. Then, think of it from the other side: what about all the patients who need a higher level of care, or who, again, maybe don't trust technology? There is a huge need for healthcare professionals as it is, so adding an additional burden to their day will only increase the need for these professionals. So, what can one do? Should telemedicine be pushed to expand healthcare, or should we just continue to play it safe until the problem arises again? This leads into something we talked about in class: accelerationism. 

Also in this article, they discussed a potential way to solve this conflict: National Academic Center for Telehealth. The purpose of this resource is to train professionals in the field of telehealth and running a telehealth program; plus, they also mentioned that they wanted it to be a “resource focused on developing and translating new knowledge about how to incorporate technology into the generation of health and the delivery of healthcare.” Again, this circles back to accelerationism and creating a generation of more technologically advanced techniques.

I know things are coming down to the end for the semester, but feel free to make comments or ask questions if you end up feeling like it! Have a good night and good luck on finals!