Healthcare is always advancing, always changing and it’s making our future brighter. Telepathology is part of it, and it’s crucially valuable.
As a method of medical analysis, telepathology is the process and network through which specialists around the world can provide life-saving care quickly. And time is very important in the medical field.
In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about how telepathology is changing the medical industry. So that you can determine if you want to join the network or make use of it to heal yourself.
Whenever you’re ready to take your knowledge of the health industry further, keep reading.
What Is Telepathology in the Medical Industry?
In essence, telepathology is a method of performing regular pathology remotely. It’s usually done over the internet. The process makes use of a variety of medical tools.
Information sent from a primary hospital is passed on to pathologists that are located somewhere else for their opinion and diagnosis. Telepathology became a thing in the 1980s when there was a need to fill in the gap.
Since those times, the technology behind telepathology and the processes have advanced to improve the method by which medical practices and hospitals help their patients.
With this technology being so widespread, it’s not hard to guess that the internet is one of the most important partitions of telepathology. This technology is used to get real-time and timely opinions. Thus, the connection is integral to its efficacy.
There are two primary types of telepathology, which are virtual slides and real-time systems.
Virtual Slide Systems
Virtual slide systems are those that are based on a review of samples between glass slides. For instance, tissues taken from a patient are frozen and sent to the pathologist after scanned. The slides keep the samples organized and sterile.
With glass slides, the system allows for remote review of samples by the best pathologists. They can manipulate and review the slides in their own space as if they have the original samples. The process behind the virtual slides system is accurate over 90% of the time.
The success rate of that grandeur is outstanding. This gives the patient the best possible results for treatment. Not to mention, the patient does not have to wait for extended periods of time to get results.
This is the best pathology approach for patients and their health. The patient only has to worry about the present appointment and the results that arrive, usually within hours. There is no pressure for wait time.
Real-Time Systems
Real-time systems make use of specialized microscopes with virtual software to assist the process. The software allows digital images to be uploaded online. Thus, allowing the pathologist to view and analyze the images in real-time.
The process is practically instant and it removes the need for mailing samples. The in-house specialist can take pictures of your samples and information and then display it on the remote device of the other specialist.
Once the consulting pathologists review the images, they can do whatever they like with them. The review is received momentarily, leading to better turnarounds for the patient. By receiving a diagnosis instantly, the patient can go through treatment instantly.
These remote solutions are pushing the future of diagnosis and healthcare. Effective remote communication serves patients better in every way. The hospital doesn’t have to staff excessive members, and the patient gets to save money.
Not to mention, the amount of time that a patient can save is insurmountable. Telepathology methods are the best option for patients and doctors alike.
Uses Of Telepathology
Besides diagnosis, telepathology is used for many other things. Sending images to colleagues at other institutions for another opinion can be the difference between death and life.
However, telepathology also provides a simple way for medical studies to review real-time x-rays, scans, and tissues. They can learn from remote locations by accessing data from a variety of pathologists around the world. This also allows them to speak to other specialists about specific questions.
If pathologists believe that their sample can relate to other fields, they can send images of them to people in that field of medicine for analysis. Regardless of the subtype for pathology, the images are sent immediately.
This is just another way for patients to receive the best possible care in a minimal amount of time. Another thing to consider is the value of telepathology in regards to the treatment of cancers. Cancer affects many people around the world, either they had it themselves or know somebody who did.
Not every hospital or doctor’s office has access to oncologists on-site. This is even more true for specialty oncology. By using telepathology, the scans can be sent to specialists on the other side of the country. Patients don’t have to worry about their results, and they don’t have to wait weeks to find out about their illness.
How Has Telepathology Advanced the Medical Industry
Not all medical facilities have the same funding or gear available to them. This means that less-funded facilities can potentially provide decreased care to patients because of minimal financial capacity. Results from tests can take excessive lengths of time.
Telepathology allows specialists in hospital or practice without a pathology to send their images or slides to pathologist elsewhere soon. It also helps doctors to quickly send information to colleagues. Having second-opinions is valuable for doctors who work on troublesome cases together.
And the more doctors work on serious cases together, the more likely it is that patients will receive lifesaving care. Another benefit to telepathology is the impact that it has on areas where pathologists are lacking.
In some parts of the world, there are too many patients and not enough specialists to treat them. In some countries, there are no pathologists available at all. Sadly, diseases are not discriminated against, and patients still require pathology services to heal.
Telepathology is incredible when it’s needed. Doctors who are in Africa and struggling with many patients can send their data to pathologists in the US or Canada. This means that everyone with the internet is part of the network.
Lifesaving care can be provided to more people around the world. Telepathology services are lifesaving services in the medical industry.
Telepathology Services for You
Now that you know how important telepathology is to the medical industry, you are that much closer to determining if you would like to make use of the power of remote healthcare. If you’re a patient, you can refer telepathology to your physician so that they can learn about it too.
If you’re interested in making use of easy-to-use digital pathology technology, get in touch with us and we will happily accommodate your needs.
