Telehealth may sound like new technology, but this type of medical telecommunication equipment has been saving lives for a few decades. "I've Fallen, And I Can't Get Up"

Everyone's seen the commercials that helped define pop culture in the 80's and 90's. In the commercial, an elderly woman has fallen, too weak or frail to get up on her own. With no one around to help, the elderly woman pushes a button and calls out in a panic, "I've fallen, and I can't get up." The next scenes are of an ambulance rushing to save her life. This commercial vividly portrayed the dire need for telehealth services. Countless lives have been saved from this device alone.

This commercial may have popularized the idea of telehealth, but in fact this form of health care has been around even longer. The telephone used to be the sole device that most people had and used. For years before "Mrs. Fletcher" ever fell down and couldn't get up, doctors and nurses have been using the telephone to keep track of patients while at home. Only within the last few decades has telehealth become a huge market.

What Is It?

Basically, telehealth devices monitor sick or elderly patients while they are at home. This way the patients can rest in the comfort of their own homes, and still receive quality care from their doctors. Telehealth delivers important information to doctors, such as blood pressure levels and heart rates. A computer receives this information and alerts the doctors or nurses if anything falls below an acceptable level.

Medication can even be administered through telehealth systems. Once a device is properly set up, a doctor or nurse can remotely regulate the proper dose a patient needs. More so, lifesaving medication can be administered at a moment's notice as if the patient was personally in the hospital. So what equipment is needed for telehealth?

Simple And Complex Equipment

There are two categories that telehealth equipment falls into: simple and complex. The simple devices are those similar to what was sold in the "I've fallen, and I can't get up" commercials. These devices are simple radio receivers that transmit communication between patients and the proper authorities at a push of a button. There's nothing invasive about these simple devices, and the prices reflect that. This equipment simply allows for communication between health professionals and the patients.

Complex telehealth devices are the ones that administer medication, or offer video and audio communications between the patient and health officials. These are also the most expensive, though the point is null when compared to the costs of living in a hospital. Patients that need chronic attention and medication, but desire to rest comfortably in their own homes benefit the most from this form of telehealth. Complex systems may need to be either implanted or connected to the patient. All telehealth equipment will be provided by the companies installing it, and normally can't be found elsewhere.

Overall, telehealth equipment has turned out to be a good product for the health industry. Some feared that using these devices would increase the amount of workers needed to keep track of a single patient, but in fact this technology does the opposite. One nurse is able to keep track of several patients all at once, giving quality care to the patients and freeing up the doctor to work on others. The number of health professionals has dropped over the years, so relying on telehealth devices to monitor patients has been a blessing to hospitals worldwide.

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