The healthcare industry is often considered to be the one industry that can work independently of technology. People often believe that digital transformation can invade numerous industries in the market but not healthcare [1]. However, ICT or Information and Communications Technology has proved this to be just a myth. In fact, with revolutionary advances in ICT, the healthcare industry has been able to boost medical support and care in remote places of the world using telehealth and telemedicine.

The idea behind telehealth is to connect healthcare professionals and patients in a way that they have never been able to before. It could be patients from remote parts of the world who do not have quick access to emergency medical services. It could also be elderly people who cannot step out of their houses without help from others. All in all, telehealth aims to touch the lives of billions of people all across the globe. Let’s dive deeper into how telehealth and telemedicine are flourishing.

Difference between telehealth and telemedicine

Sometimes people use the terms telehealth and telemedicine interchangeably. That does not mean they are similar. Comparing the two brings forth the distinguishing characteristics of each practice. Some of the differences include;

• Telemedicine entails clinical services only, whereas telehealth entails remote delivery of clinical and non-clinical services.
• Telehealth may incorporate telemedicine, but it is different in that it adds to the service range available. Telemedicine concentrates on the patient and physician only. Telehealth serves patients, healthcare providers, administrators, payers, insurers, and other health stakeholders.
• Telemedicine focuses on individuals, while telehealth focuses on populations. The decisions that arise in telemedicine may involve several practitioners, all catering to one patient. With telehealth, personnel from different sectors collaborate to decide the right pathways for the [2] groups of patients. Telemedicine is a part of one process for each patient, while telehealth is a cycle that incorporates several procedures to cater to several patients
• Data collected from telemedicine involves patient changes, while telehealth data allows providers to identify patterns in patients with similar cases to track changes in cohorts.
• Telemedicine limits the choices of the patient, while telehealth offers various options for the people utilizing it.
• Telehealth involves the education of consumers, healthcare providers, and administrators on alternative approaches to healthcare but telemedicine offers the care without any training.
• The means one uses for telemedicine limits the number of patients a single practitioner can attend to simultaneously—however, telehealth simultaneous interactions of several patients, practitioners, and other decision-makers in the health industry.
• Telehealth and telemedicine are only similar in that they occur over a distance. As the rules and technologies involved in both telehealth and telemedicine evolve, the lines differentiating the two get blurry to make out clear distinctions. It will require a constant review of the definitions to keep track of the changes. It may require a total repeal of the existing rules and the formation of new ones figure1 shown below.

Figure1: Telehealth and Telemedicine.

Telemedicine limits the choices of the patient, while telehealth offers various options for the people utilizing it. Telehealth [3] involves the education of consumers, healthcare providers, and administrators on alternative approaches to healthcare but telemedicine offers the care without any training.

References:

1. https://www.aafp.org/news/media-center/kits/telemedicine-and-telehealth.html
2. liquidhealth.news/telehealth-services-in-us-and-understanding-the-difference-betwe…
3. https://quick.md/blog/telehealth/telemedicine-vs-telehealth

Cite this article:

Vinotha D (2021), Difference Between Telehealth and Telemedicine, AnaTechmaz, pp. 18