More and more patients and doctors are starting to realize the benefits of webconferencing and telemedicine. One of those doctors is Ray Dorsey, a movement disorders specialist at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, who is giving access to his specialty medical practice to patients who live too far away to go to him in person.

One of his patients is 68 year old Deanna Ventura, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Ventura uses the conference room of a nursing home near to her house to consult with Ray Dorsey.

“If it wasn’t for this program, I would not be getting what I need for my Parkinson’s,” she told NPR after admitting that the video calls with Ray Dorsey had a dramatic impact in her quality of life.

According to the medical practitioner, there are 140 million people in the US with a chronic condition that could receive help from specialists through web conferencing.

“We’re at the point where we can remove geographical barriers to care,” said Dorsey to NPR.

Telemedicine in the United States

Telemedicine in the U.S. might have some trouble being implemented because a doctor with a license in one state isn’t allowed to treat patients in other states. Another issue hurting telemedicine is the fear of frauds, which cost $60 billion to the country every year.

But while in the U.S. telemedicine might be hard to implement, in Canada the reality is another. Because of shortage of physicians, the Canadian government has invested heavily in creating infrastructures for telemedicine by equipping local hospitals with webconferencing systems. In Canada, doctors receive a bonus for remotely attending their patients.

Patients also seem happy with 90% of them stating they liked the Canadian long-distance health care.

Doctors also remember that telemedicine allows them to save time for themselves and for patients.

Telemedicine solutions

With the latest progress in web conferencing solutions there is no real reason why telemedicine shouldn’t be more practiced in the U.S.

Web conferencing and remote support solutions like RHUB 6-in-1 appliance allow the recording of telemedicine practices which should help sorting out what which are frauds and which are the real deal thus not only improving the general healthcare of the population but also saving taxpayers money.