Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They are not accurate. They are routinely high every time I have it done at home or at the doctors office with a machine. If i put up enough of a stink they will do it the old fashioned way -- much lower.
You people are probably going to get me killed with your hook line and sinker ideas about how you can monitor your own health and pay $500 for the pleasure.
I think the machines are likely more accurate then the old-fashioned cuffs... those depend on the person taking the bp slowly enough to identify exactly where they are hearing the beats. I learned how to use a standard cuff when I was 16 years old; it doesn't require a professional. You listen for beats and note the number that the dial is pointing to. It's an estimate every time.
Telemedicine has a role to play in some types of situations where physical examination is not required. It can also be used as a screening tool. It runs the risk of being overused and is in no way a substitute for an actual in person appointment for some situations. When both are offered, I make the decision which one is more suitable for my situation.
People are generally unaware of changes based on outcome studies that showed for example that a yearly physical isn't necessary in a healthy young person. Studies also show that doing lab work blindly every year as a part of the physical likewise was basically a waste of money. Even checking BP at every visit has shown that there is no outcome differences in people whether you check their BP or not.
Some cancer screening show that with some cancers it doesn't change the outcome. In some cancers like thyroid and prostate there's even a fall back on insisting that every one get a PSA. There's even talk of changing the name of some rare cancers that are so very slow growing that it isn't worth the treatment because if you call it malignant or cancer then the patient expects it to be treated. Like I got cancer and so get rid of it.
That is a lot of truth above. It kind of flies in the face of much of the ACA requirements of all the screenings and physicals and tests. I think patients are probably divided into two camps, those who only see a doctor if they have a problem and those who religiously go as scheduled and do everything on the recommendation list.
I've always wondered who costs the healthcare system more.
Telemedicine has a role to play in some types of situations where physical examination is not required. It can also be used as a screening tool. It runs the risk of being overused and is in no way a substitute for an actual in person appointment for some situations. When both are offered, I make the decision which one is more suitable for my situation.
Here's the part that people don't understand, doctors are in the office 9-5 and some don't even go visit their own patients when they are in the hospital as they have hospitalist now. When they are home they take calls 24 hours a day from patients, nurses and other doctors. This has been happening since the phone was invented. Tele as in telephone medicine has been in existence for a long time. How many times have you heard or seen people here tell the OP to call their doctor and ask?
People here are saying that it runs the risk of being overused but let's see the statistics of it being a risk and what those situations are and then recommendations can be made to fix a problem involving those situations if that is the case. I am making an assumption that the realistic use of phone calls has made doctors early on in their career, experts about the limitations on phone use and not seeing patients. They should know and do know themselves on when telemedicine is appropriate and when it is not. I have more faith on that than others out there which is why I would like to see a study delineating any actual problem. Like I said doctors and health professionals communicate with each other and with patients over the phone all of the time and the only difference now is that one can have a picture screen now and people are apprehensive about that. A picture screen adds to it doesn't detract from a doctors tools and if they can't see well enough on the screen they will say to go in face to face or go into the ER for that evaluation.
Why am I taking the point of view that I am taking? There has been statistics out there stating that 80% of ER visits are unnecessary. They shouldn't be there. They are trivial visits that should be handled by some other venue. Some of those could have been handled by telemedicine. Now the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction with patients afraid of hospitals and some serious illness can be missed. A balance in the future will include continued use of the telemedicine once we understand how to use it better.
I use both telemedicine and in-person visits with my PCP. Both have their uses.
I had to stifle a laugh when I saw my PCP in-person for the first time during the pandemic. The giant health network he works for requires practitioners to wear full-length lab coats, surgical masks and face shields. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.
I like telemed. I get to see him without a mask. He has been my PCP for a very long time.
Telemedicine appointments are perfectly fine for some visits, but not for all, of course. A doctor needs to examine you in person for some things, but not for some other things, like a followup appointment for a known treated problem, or to explain lab results, etc.
I would say it's common sense, but I've recently come to realize that there is no such thing as common sense.
Why are people taking their BP so much????? Im in my 40s, w death level, premature heart disease & I hardly take it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
