How to use telemedicine to survive COVID-19 isolation?

The unexpected lockdown enforced on billions on people around the globe to fight the COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis in medical care access. Millions are struggling with disrupted routine medical care needs and have been postponing hospital visits fearing exposing themselves to the highly contagious virus.

Despite the lockdown, it is a matter of hope that we are not completely cut out from each other. Despite the physical distance people are in touch with each other via different interactive platforms and audio and video technology.

Today we have access to an entire virtual universe at the tips of our fingers. We are able to work from our homes, order our food, find the news we need, access the entertainment we seek and much more. With the lockdown, we have expressly discovered ways we can stay remote and yet operate efficiently. We have been praying, playing and mourning through our video interfaces. We have been rewiring our interactions with this world to get ahead of the tough times presented to us.

When we can do so much staying remote and yet feel we aren’t so cut off hasn’t it struck you that maybe medical care can also be made available via telecommunication networks?

Well yes, it can be. Numerous medical facilities and clinics are offering telemedicine or virtual care options of various scales today and are connecting doctors to patients via sterile, no-contact virtual environments.

What is telemedicine?

Telemedicine refers to a broad spectrum of modern technologies and tactics used to deliver virtual medical, health, and education services remotely and functions with the assistance of various interfaces like synchronous and asynchronous video, audio and mobile communication technology.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), in its guidance issued regarding HIPAA compliance, has said that medical practitioners can make use of available non-public facing video interfaces used ‘in good faith’ to connect with their patients and that the overarching privacy protocols laid down by the HIPAA regulations will be eased temporarily.

How does it work?

Telemedicine takes the process of meeting a doctor to a virtual plane altogether. There will be no front office or physical infrastructure for patients to register their appointment. Instead, they will be booking their appointment online and getting an email or SMS link to a video or audio call. There are three ways patients can meet with their doctors-

Synchronous or live video: In the synchronous mode there will be live, two-way interaction between the patient and doctor using common, popular audiovisual telecommunication technologies like Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts video or Skype.
Asynchronous or store and forward: In asynchronous mode, patients and doctors do not meet each other live real-time, instead they exchange recorded health information, like radiographs, photographs, video, digital impressions and photomicrographs through secure electronic communication systems.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM): In RPM, personal health and medical data is collected from an individual in one location via electronic communication technologies and is transmitted to a provider (sometimes via a data processing service), in a different location to gain access to a virtual caregiver.
Apart from this the public can also leverage mobile phone networks to access medical care.

The doctors, who receive patient information via any of these means then use it to evaluate a patient’s condition and perform an online triage. Depending upon the condition of the patient they may then recommend an e-prescription for medicines or refer the patient to an open medical facility where they can approach for in-person care.

Most telemedicine portals and software also have inbuilt payment modes to make the process truly seamless and digital.

Medical privacy and telemedicine

Medical care in the US is ruled by the stringent HIPAA regulations that protects patient privacy. Telemedicine obviously poses several challenges to the maintenance of these protocols. Several technologies used for virtual consultations are not HIPAA compliant.

To tackle this, the authorities have sanctioned temporary leniency in the regulations and have allowed the use of more personalized communication technologies.

Apart from this, the state agencies have also mandated that the providers must notify patients that the third-party applications used in the audio and video interfaces carry potential privacy risks, and should try and enable all available encryption and privacy modes possible while using such applications.

The state directive also expressly bans the usage of public-facing video communication applications like Facebook Live, Twitch and TikTok.

Is telemedicine recognized by insurance carriers?

Under the regulatory flexibilities announced in the wake of the corona outbreak, the insurance companies have extended coverage to telemedicine treatment codes in both medical and dental care services. All that needs to be done is to add the special codes denoting the telemedicine service or the teledentistry service to the existing treatment code protocol while submitting a claim.

Is telemedicine the future of medicine?

Telemedicine is not something very new. Several caregivers have used telemedicine in different formats to help elderly, immobile, remotely located or differently-abled patients. Even teledentistry is popular in several parts of the United States. At several places teledentistry follow-ups are also simplified and there are doctors and dentists who visit patients at their homes to save them the trouble of traveling to get to a medical facility.

With the exigent situation brought in by the COVID-19 outbreak, several millions will start realizing the convenience offered by telemedicine. With telemedicine, even during normal times, people can save travel and avoid skipping office days to meet doctors. This will also be extensively helpful for the less mobile patients or patients recovering from invasive surgeries and are going through long periods of rest and recovery. Moreover, it is safer than visiting any hospital or dental practice anyday as secure home environs mitigate cany chances of accidental germ exposure.

With its potential to extend exposure-free care to remote locations, reduce crowding at medical facilities, make quality care access almost 24*7 and reduce travel and establishment costs, one can truly see teledentistry assuming more importance in the post COVID era.

I Want To Lose Weight But I Can’t Stop Eating, Will Natural Appetite Suppressant Pills Help?

Weight loss theory is very simple; you need to use more calories than what you consume in order to lose weight. In fact, one should burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound from the body weight, this is very easy to say but difficult to be done. If you are one among those who are having hard time to find the appropriate combination of calorie consumption and workout to accomplish the result they desire, natural appetite suppressant pills may help to a great extent in losing weight.

For many people, the bad part of sticking with a low calorie diet is feeling hungry constantly. After certain time it starts to take over, every ad in newspaper, spot in TV, jingle on radio appears to be only about food and only reminds you how hungry you are. Soon you will start to feel like one among those cartoon characters who gets desirous that they start to see all of their friends as different portions of food.

Ready meals and diet plans that are aimed at dieters may taste good, but many accomplish low calorie counts just by cutting the portion size. If you are fond of meals along with starters, snacks and desserts, surviving only on these diet meals can be very difficult. There is no wonder why many people have difficulty in sticking with their diet plans.

Trying to accomplish weight loss goal through too many activities can also be a difficult battle. For a normal person, a half-hour workout like walking will help in burning only 150 calories. Cheating on your diet plan only for couple times in a day would make all your efforts to waste instantly. Appetite suppressant natural diet pills tackle the problem from a very different point of view by manipulating the brain into thinking that you are just done with a huge meal. Even after a small amount of food, these pills will make you feel very full and you don’t want to eat anything after that.

Used appropriately, these natural appetite suppressant diet pills can help to reduce the quantity of food that you eat by at least 40%. This reduces your calorie intake by the same amount approximately, making it very easy for you to meet your goals of weight loss. A course of natural weight loss pills can help you in changing you eating patterns for the long time, getting you used to small portions and not eating any type of snacks in between your meals. Apart from helping you in losing weight, these pills also help in making sure that your weight does not return.

Slim-N-Trim capsule is the popular herbal medicine recommended for people with the problems of obesity and overweight. Herbal ingredients added in the preparation of these capsules help in detoxifying the blood and enhance the functioning of kidney and livers. These capsules are the ideal choice for people who are in search of a good colon cleanser. Piper nigrum, acacia Arabica, terminalia chebula and terminalia are some of the ingredients used in the preparation of these weight loss pills. Improving digestive health, enhancing the person’s vitality and improving the absorption of nutrients are the important health benefits of using these capsules.

Read about Natural Appetite Suppressant Pills. Also know Herbal Weight Loss Pills Supplement. Read about Herbal Slimming Pills Appetite Suppressant.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children

ADHD is the most common behavioural disorder in the UK and tends to start at an early age.

In this article:

What is ADHD?

Diagnosis

Advice & Support

Symptoms

Effect on your life

Causes

Treatment

What is ADHD?
ADHD mainly affects children (3–9 per cent of school-aged children and young people in the UK) and consists of a combination of hyperactivity and an inability to concentrate on anything for more than a very short period of time.

Boys are more commonly diagnosed with ADHD than girls. However, behavioural psychologists suggest that this may be because of some differences in behaviour between genders (see Symptoms section below).

Symptoms
The symptoms of ADHD can range from mild to severe, and include:

persistent restlessness

excessive impulsiveness

excessive inattention

being easily distracted

constant fidgeting

an inability to ‘wait your turn’ in situations where this is required, and

a tendency to become withdrawn and ‘dreamy’ (behaviour usually displayed by girls with ADHD, rather than boys, whose overall behaviour is livelier)

Other problems children with ADHD may have to cope with include:

sleep disorders

low self-esteem

learning difficulties, and

a tendency towards anxiety and depression

Symptoms usually become apparent at around the age of five.

Causes
The exact cause of ADHD is as yet unknown. However, in-depth research consisting of clinical interviews, trials and observational psychological studies into ADHD have led to the following suggestions as being possible causes as to why some children develop the condition:

Genetics – an inherited imbalance of neurotransmitters (chemicals that transmit nerve signals to the brain). Usually a parent or a close relative also has the condition.

Diet – some food additives can aggravate hyperactive behaviour (these can be found in foods like ice cream and confectionery).

Antenatal and Obstetric problems – premature babies and babies with a low birth weight can be prone to developing ADHD, as can babies of mothers who smoke, drink alcohol and use recreational drugs during pregnancy.

Severe deprivation – where maternal deprivation occurs in the child’s early ‘mother–infant’ attachment stage.

Diagnosis
If your child is displaying the aforementioned symptoms and you suspect that they may have ADHD then make an appointment with your GP to confirm an accurate diagnosis. (Please note: it may be that your child’s school will first raise the issue regarding your child’s hyperactive behaviour and inability to concentrate.)

Your GP will make a diagnostic assessment which may include:

a discussion with your child

a physical examination (to rule out other possible cause such as thyroid problems)

memory tests, and

problem-solving skills

If your GP diagnoses ADHD, your child will be referred to a specialist who will be able to recommend appropriate treatment and advise you how you can best cope with and manage your child’s condition.

Effect on your life
Having a hyperactive child can be exhausting. They may be unable to sit still, especially in quiet and calm surroundings. They may also display excessive physical movement and find it almost impossible to settle to any kind of tasks at all. They might also run anywhere – even where/when it is completely inappropriate.

If your child suffers from ADHD, don’t despair. There are lots of people in your situation. There is also a lot of help out there and strategies you can use to make coping easier as time passes. What’s more, many parents of children with ADHD find that their child is often singled out as being particularly charismatic, creative, lively and infectiously energetic – a positive child for other children to be around.

Treatment
As yet, ADHD cannot be cured. However, there are drug and non-drug treatment options that can help greatly. These can include a parent training programme where you can learn techniques and strategies to help you cope with and manage your child’s condition, with a view to improving your family’s daily life overall.

Medication can definitely also help some children (where parent training proves unsuccessful), with Ritalin being the main one prescribed in the UK. Ritalin helps improve concentration levels and reduces hyperactive behaviour in children.

Note: Make your trips to the supermarket with your child short; watch only short films at the cinema with them; and always choose activities where your child will not have to sit for long periods.

Activities where your child gets to burn up energy for a while before needing to knuckle down for an hour or so can be a good idea. For example, many parents find that taking their child climbing can result in the child being better able to concentrate on things like homework for an hour or two when they return home.

It can also be useful to help your child understand why they behave as they do.

Advice & Support
National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service
Tel: 020 8952 2800
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.addiss.co.uk

Hyperactive Children’s Support Group
Tel. 01243 539 966
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.hacsg.org.uk

This information and advice is not intended to replace the advice of your GP or chemist. Chemist Online is also not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based upon the content of the Chemist Online website. Chemist Online is also not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites.

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