The idea of telehealth has a much longer history than many are aware. As far back as 1879, an article in the Lancet publication mentioned the use of telephones in order to reduce unnecessary office visits. Later in the 1920s doctors started using the radio to help treat patients in hard to reach places, such ships out at sea. It follows that with the introduction of video, more types of telehealth services could be provided. Telehealth evolves as technology becomes more commercially available. With digital mobile devices in almost every household, the potential reach of telehealth is greater than ever. With such a large global outreach and such a large amount of data going back and forth telehealth has new concerns to overcome.
A great concern of information sharing today is security and easy access. Utilizing blockchain for telehealth solutions will help to address these concerns. Blockchain can be described as an infinite and immutable data ledger. The data on a blockchain is replicated onto numerous unrelated nodes. This creates a decentralized database that cannot be controlled from any one node and cannot be altered. It is a strict record keeping technology that provides transparency and auditability to medical records. The record keeping provided by blockchain will also allow for doctors to easily access all of a patient’s data (upon the patient’s consent) without having to reach out to multiple sources.
A driving factor of utilizing blockchain in telehealth is working with technology to forward the idea of putting the focus of the patient at the center of their healthcare journey. With access to and control of their own data, they will be able to make better informed decisions and gives them more responsibility as a primary focus of the healthcare system. This can only be done by giving patients the knowledge and tools to be able to control their healthcare journey. Doctors and third parties can only access information if permissions are granted by the patient.
Global Telehealth Exchange (GTHE) is a telehealth solution that is HIPAA-compliant, secure and provides worldwide access to healthcare. With access to doctors globally, and the ability to securely share information, patients using GTHE will have no problems getting the help they need from anywhere in the world. And having easy access to full medical records can help healthcare providers to diagnose and advise treatment options more efficiently. General practitioners and specialists using GTHE can easily make referrals or share documentation when needed.
GTHE offers many benefits to healthcare providers including:
- Instant reimbursement
- Top level data security
- Cross-border treatments
- No additional paperwork, and in most cases eliminates it all together
- Full control over your rates, availability and schedule
- No monthly or annual subscription fee
- No contract commitments
With GTHE, healthcare providers can connect with their patients seamlessly and provide a better remote standard of care. If you want to expand your medical practice without investing in expensive software, visit the GTHE website and sign up now.
