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Telemedicine vs. Telehealth: What’s the difference?
Terri Phillips | Jun 10, 2021
Blog Home > Services > Telemedicine vs. Telehealth: What’s the difference?
Terri Phillips | Jun 10, 2021
The terms “telehealth” and “telemedicine” have been gaining popularity since before COVID-19 made remote medical services a priority. Over half of adults who’ve used telehealth in the past year intend to continue doing so post-pandemic. Virtual receptionists, teleconferencing software, and wearable tech are streamlining healthcare services for patients and doctors. But there is still confusion over what defines telehealth, what defines telemedicine, and what is the difference between telehealth and telemedicine.
Is a Fitbit smartwatch considered telehealth? Are remote medical appointments an example of telehealth, telemedicine, or both?
The short answer is telemedicine is telehealth. Telehealth is an umbrella term encompassing the use of telecommunications and other technologies to improve the healthcare of individuals. Telemedicine specifically refers to the use of remote technology to provide a healthcare service. Think: video appointments.
Those definitions leave a lot of room for overlap, so let’s look at the long answer:
Telehealth covers a wide range of services and devices that bridge the distance between individuals and their healthcare providers. These can be divided up into four categories:
Telemedicine vs telehealth: what is the difference? Telemedicine fits firmly into the synchronous category of telehealth by allowing healthcare providers to offer services in real-time. Healthcare providers and patients use software on a laptop, smartphone, tablet, or other device to communicate live as an alternative to an in-person visit.
Incorporating telehealth or telemedicine into your practice requires secure, HIPAA-compliant software; broadband Internet access, staff training, and a range of devices. However, the benefits you and your patients will receive from telehealth make it well worth it.
Telehealth isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and patients will expect their healthcare providers to offer telehealth in some form. Fortunately, the wide range of telehealth and telemedicine options ensure healthcare clinics can pick and choose the services that best fit their—and their patients’—needs.
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