There is a reportedly limited access to mhealth eye health services in many low income and middle-income populations. This is because for a really long time this service was provided on face to face basis. Patients had to travel all the way to the clinic or hospitals to get the service. With the rise of mhealth services, this platform has made eye health treatment more accessible.
The mhealth technology ophthalmologists and optometrists are using tools available on smartphones and tablets to provide consultations to their parents and even give eye exams to patients on the online platforms. The mhealth platform services accord doctors the opportunity to provide their services out in the field using new technology to treat eye conditions in less than optimal conditions n the online platform on their own. This has proven very beneficial to small clinics and solo eye doctors as it improves workflow, attracting new business and competing with larger health systems.
There have been some issues raised regarding the use of mhealth technology in the eye treatment field.
Old fashioned eye doctors fear losing business to the mhealth platform. They argue that the technology is unsafe, irresponsible, and hurts the business of licensed professionals. This however has not downplayed the important benefits brought about by the mhealth services. There is an example where there is the use of the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) technology spearheaded by DOCSUN. DOCSUN uses OCT technology to scan the facial features of the user and provide vital sign readings. Once the scan is done it will reveal the user’s vital signs and provide a health report whether he or she is healthy or not.
Faster access to mhealth eye services to patients.
Patients are able to use the mhealth platform to access healthcare professionals and other top healthcare organizations that they would not normally have access to. This platform provides a medium where they can send secure messages, schedule appointments, and connect to telemedicine providers. The mhealth platform offers convenience since the provider can do all this at the comfort of their home and not travel over long distances
Mhealth improves medication adherence.
The mhealth platform ensures strict adherence of medication by patients especially those who are discharged from a hospital and the doctor cannot observe it. This was seen as a mitigating against hospital readmissions and poor outcomes. Mhealth technology solutions improve this by giving patients features such as automated medication and refill reminders, and educational information that improve the chance they will take their medications properly.
Mhealth makes remote patient monitoring possible and easy.
This is the situation where the platform homecare and telehealth services. The patients through using their smartphones gather, enter and automatically transmit it to the healthcare providers. The platform also provides the clinician with the ability to track a patient’s conditions. The access to the biological data is also safe guarding a patients’ care and privacy. This is done through some devises such as watches, fitness trackers and wristbands that are continuously tracking and monitoring of such data.
Mhealth boosts remote patient monitoring to help patients manage some of the chronic conditions. This will go a long way in ensuring that they are following their hospital discharge instructions and taking their medications correctly.
Mhealth increases reconciliation accuracy which improves patient safety.
There are some patients who are given different types of medication and with different dosages. This creates a big problem in that the patients are not able to recall the names and at times the dosages. This is most common in elderly patients and other high-risk patients. When clinicians are not sure what medications a patient is taking it might create drug to drug interactions which may lead to poisoning and other adverse reactions. The online platform mitigates this by providing access to the patients online medical profile to the relevant medical expert or any other relevant caregiver.
Mhealth technology improves provider communication and coordination.
This mobile technology platform improves the ability of the different stakeholders connect across the health systems platform. It does this by giving the provider’s full appointment schedules, long days and multiple facility coverage requirements connecting with colleagues, coworkers and patients