Public health experts are in full swing finding solutions to this epidemic or disease outbreak. The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 was first reported from Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019. As of today (March 8, 2020), the number of confirmed cases across the globe is at 105,427. Experts are worried that the coronavirus is only a step away from being a pandemic.

Telemedicine can play an important role in reaching out to those who are in remote areas that are limited access to care. Let’s have a closer look at how Telemedicine could help in early detection and limit the exposure from possible infection.

The value of Telemedicine in promoting early diagnosis for coronavirus or COVID-19

Televisits help patients connecting the physician of their choices remotely from the comfort of their home with the help of their internet-enabled smart devices or personal computers anytime.

The remote visits are effective especially for common minor ailments such as flu, cough, and cold. Since the coronavirus is sharing similar symptoms as a cold and flu, Physician in the Telemedicine network could help to assess symptoms using screening questions that are specific to the recent novel coronavirus.

The Telemedicine could further help with early diagnosis if coronavirus is suspected using CDC clinical guidelines. Physicians can follow the CDC instructions and decide if the patient should take necessary testing and quarantine those suspected of exposure. They can quickly notify the local or state health departments if the results turned out to be positive.

We can further avoid the spread of potential coronavirus from people who have minimal symptoms but can be infectious through the Telemedicine remote visits.

Limiting the exposure that helps physicians on frontlines

The collective voice of public health experts around the world to prevent this deadly virus is to avoid exposure. As a core concept of the Telemedicine suggests, the patients are no need to travel from their work or home to get their consultation done. It helps patients, physicians and anyone they encounter en-route to their healthcare facility could being avoided by the possible infection due to their exposure.

Physicians can easily perform remote visits to screen their patients for illness (including coronavirus), refer the proper testing, can prescribe medications and do the follow-up as needed.

Telemedicine that could be truly customized to meet today’s healthcare challenges

The healthcare industry is often facing unexpected challenges now and then. With the help of technology, Telemedicine is once again proving increasingly helpful in fighting against any new challenges in the healthcare industry including a widespread outbreak like coronavirus or COVID-19.