3 Ways The Internet Can Make Healthcare More Accessible
Nearly every single market and aspect of society have become intertwined with the internet today. Medicine and pharmaceuticals are no different. Today, people can order medicine online, refill prescriptions, receive diagnoses, and even download discounts for medicine they need. The internet has become the basis for home medical processes and access to medicine. The following are just a few of the wide variety of ways that the internet can make healthcare more accessible and transform the world of medicine.
1. Home Delivery Services
By using the internet to buy and order medicine, patients can have their prescription drugs delivered directly to their doorsteps. This is especially beneficial to sufferers of illnesses that render them bedridden and house-bound. Debilitated patients no longer have to visit doctors and pharmacies to get the medicine they need. Prescription medicine is but a click away, with sites like PillPack and Planet Drugs Direct.
2. Online Discounts
Websites like GoodRx are doing their due diligence by providing patients with affordable discounts for medicines that would otherwise be too expensive for customers to actually buy. As the price of pharmaceuticals sky-rockets internationally, patients are finding it harder and harder to attain the medicines they need. Various websites have come to the rescue, offering discounts to get a lower price for medicines. Some sites, like Reddit, will even offer to buy patients’ medicine for them, making it free, as opposed to simply cheaper. Forums like r/assistance and r/vagabond, witness a sense of community that is ready to help its members, especially when they can’t seem to afford the help they so desperately need.
3. Internet Diagnosis
While sites like Wikipedia and WebMD should never be used by anyone to self-diagnosis any mental or physical illness, doctors are currently using web-chatting technology to help diagnose illnesses. While the world is still a ways off from perfecting these techniques of diagnosis, patients can now connect with professionals and qualified doctors to receive review and diagnosis of their ailments from the privacy and comfort of their own homes. If you have something small you would like evaluated, like a rash, it is perfectly plausible to consult a doctor over the internet. However, if there is an emergency or some sort of internal disease at hand, nothing can supplement the physical care of a medical professional.
Conclusion
In today’s increasingly technological and virtual world, the internet dominates almost every industry and facet of human life. We have become more connected than we, as people, ever dreamed before. Medical advances have picked up on this trend, moving patient care to the internet in a variety of ways. Patients can now visit a doctor’s office simply by opening up their laptops or tablets and accessing the internet.
The internet provides a plethora of help to patients trying to attain the medicines they need and seeking proper diagnosis. Sufferers who are unable to leave their homes, for whatever reason, now have less to worry about. Medicine can be delivered directly to their doors and doctors can be easily contacted for treatment tips, diagnosis, and advice. While there are still flaws to these advances, the internet has opened doors of opportunity for patients and professionals alike. In the future, perhaps patients will no longer spend long hours in hospital waiting lines and doctor’s office lobbies. Echoing the golden days of house-calls, the internet provides a new twist on seeing a doctor.
