Some patients believe that the treatment process ends once the individual leaves the hospital. However, properly following the recovery process while out of the hospital ensures that a person does not have to go back. As a result, follow-up consultation is crucial. It can ensure that a person is taking proper medication without severe side effects. Follow-ups also make sure that the recovery process is meeting key benchmarks that ensure a person is actually getting well.
While follow-up care is clearly important, it is not always treated with the level of importance and seriousness that good medical practice requires. This omission occurs on the part of both the patient and the hospital. Patients often want to get on with their lives and do not pay as much attention to post-hospital instructions as they should. Hospitals want to focus more on the serious cases of the patients within their walls. If individuals do not follow these best practices, then the patient is forced to fill up another hospital bed.
Out patient follow-up consultation using telehealth services allows a sensible conclusion to this dilemma. High definition cameras allow an individual recently released from the hospital to undergo an examination and evaluation with medical professionals from the comfort of their own home. They can discuss symptoms and circumstances surrounding their recovery. Cameras allow the patient to show the progress of sutures or the presence of rashes. A person undergoing physical therapy may go through a series of exercises in front of the camera that the professional can view and comment upon. With enough information, these professionals may be able to write and change prescriptions in some cases.