The Benefits of Telehealth over Office Therapy Sessions
What is telehealth?
It is an incredible opportunity that allows clients and their counselors or therapists to interact freely with the technical support of dedicated video conferencing programs.
Telehealth is an industrial revolution agent that is influencing the way therapist and patients interact. It brings convenience and above all, efficiency.
Truth be told, the rise of telehealth was purported by the influx of COVID-19. Nevertheless, its benefits surpass the drawbacks and implications of the current situation, one year into the pandemic.
More health clinics are now realizing the power of teletherapy because it matters to all parties involved.
Why does telehealth matter?
Benefits of telehealth
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Availability and attainability
According to statistics, most clients never attend more than one office therapy appointment. It is not well known why this happens, but several theories have been raised. Most stipulate that their first experience comes with some of stress that the patients choose to avoid in future.
Telehealth removes barriers and makes it possible for clients to return. Office therapy sessions have been associated with these rather unpleasant conditions:
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Dealing with traffic and the need to find suitable parking
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Trouble locating the health premises
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Anxiety when choosing to leave the house
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Crowded and stressful waiting rooms
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Some people have difficulty coping with unfamiliar places
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Consistency
The first appointment needs to be followed up by consistency.
A patient is likely to miss an appointment that needs them to find their way into the office. Life has regular challenges that come in form of late working hours, ill health and even bad weather.
With virtual appointments, many challenges are eliminated. You can conveniently seek assistance while at home.
This means that consistency is achieved, and it provides an opportunity for patients to continue with therapy even if their jobs require them to change their location. If they were to start seeing another professional, their previous progress would be lost.
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Enhanced coverage and reach
Through telehealth, therapists are able to attend to previously unreachable patients. Office therapy sessions make it hard for individuals living in rural areas or working with busy schedules to get the help they need.
Basically barriers such as location, body impairments and time are eliminated by telehealth.
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Gets rid of the waiting room
If one is dealing with a mental illness or anxiety, making them wait till it’s their turn adds on to their problem.
The individuals are already exposed to an unfamiliar environment; a stress-inducing factor.
Telehealth makes it possible for patients to get help in familiar environments, which helps them relax and be open about their situation. It is through opening up that one is able to get help.
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Appointments are germ-free
For individuals battling issues with anxiety, constant stress has a negative implication on their immune system. A patient is likely to avoid attending an in-person appointment because they fear that they could contract a deadly disease from other patients. And their worry is understandable especially during the pandemic.
If a patient doesn’t wish to travel for an appointment, they can request their therapist to set up a telehealth session where the risk of interacting with disease-causing agents is reduced.
A similar scenario plays out when a patient has contracted a disease and don’t wish to infect other people. Telehealth swoops in to save the day!
