Telemedicine Impacting the Medical Field

With technology in the medical field always improving, doctors are able to save more patients lives with a quicker recovery period then ever before. With the recent technology of telemedicine holds a promising idea of the doctor does not have to be in same room as the patient. This holds a very good idea for a doctors helping patient that are very contagious and needed medical attention. In addition, patients can get medical attention in different location then where the doctor if the patient is not medically stable to be transported to doctors location.

With anything going medical field, there is always a big liability of something to go wrong. With telemedicine being very new to the medical field, there is a very high liability that can come from it. With surgeries having to be done with absolute precision and the doctor needs to feel how much pressure he is applying to the patient when on the operating table, if the doctor were to accidentally make the slightest mistake, it could be fatal outcome. With telemedicine being so new, the possible risk can be much higher. There can be a possible delay or glitch in response from the what the doctor is doing to the robot is doing to the patient. Another possible big issue that can occur is the possible “blue screen of death”, if the doctor is not able to see the what he/she is doing to the patient, the doctor will not be able to operate.

With all the thoughts of telemedicine being said, the surgeons job is not the only doctor that could be outsourced. The possible jobs that telemedicine can be used for in the medical field could be endless. Anesthesiologist, Surgical technicians, Physician assistants, circulating nurses, Certified registered nurse anesthetist, and much more. With all of these positions that can be put under the hands of telemedicine and artificial intelligence can put the whole medical field under higher risk than they already have been. I personally think that telemedicine is a very interesting concept to think about and with its endless applications in the medical field. By saving hospitals money for paying the residence doctors. As well as having time for specialty doctors (i.e. Neurosurgeon,ect.) that might have to fly to different parts of the world to do operations for patients that might need a special medical procedure. Telemedicine can also help with spending time and money at the physician’s office, which helps keep the costs low on insurance and health care. On the other hand, telemedicine can be extremely risky due to the very high liabilities. With the medical field being such an extremely risky occupation doctors are always put under immense amount of pressure, with having such a weak point with the doctor and patient being in different locations can be a very fatal outcome. On an ethical point of view, technology in the medical should help people, but the new telemedicine still too risky for today's medical world

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/upshot/you-mean-i-dont-have-to-show-up-the-promise-of-telemedicine.html