Coronavirus is everyones biggest concern, but it does not mean we will not develop other health problems, such as gastro, appendicitis or injuries. We still need to see the doctor, but at the same time we do not want to expose ourselves to coronavirus, by going out. As a result, doctors have been encouraged to use Telehealth, (Telehealth is where you see a doctor via something like Skype or Facetime). Now you can see your GP by Telehealth under Medicare. As a family physician, I have been using Telehealth for many years. It will never take over from seeing a doctor face to face, but we can achieve a lot using a video consultation. As a doctor I need to gather a lot of information to work out what is wrong with you. If you can give me that information, I can perform a safer consultation via a video. If you have the right tools in your house, you can give me the information that I need and reduce the chance of missing something nasty. These tools have been around for many years and are not high tech. This week, we have created a special edition newsletter to highlight what tools can be used to help your doctor make a safe diagnosis. As mentioned before in this blog, these gadgets should be part of everyones first aid kit, to allow you to always see a doctor from the comfort of your own home, safe from the coronavirus. Online Health ServicesWhether you have the right equipment or not, there are many health services that you can access online. You can see a GP, get a blood test or even an STI check. Click on the button below for more information. For Clinic OwnersIf you are a clinic owner who is setting up a Telehealth service, please click on the link below and cut and paste the URL into an email or sms to be sent to your patients.
You can improve the quality of your Telehealth assessments by informing your patient population how to provide data that can help you make a diagnosis. Please note that your patients will need to be consented to receive communication via this process - Spam Act 2003)
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Pollution And Your BreathingWe are seeing poor air quality in major cities in the world this week. Delhi in India has been struggling with high levels of pollutants. In addition recent bushfires in New South Wales have lead to poor air quality in Sydney, Australia. This can have an impact on people who suffer from lung conditions. A good article by the British Lung Foundation, can be found here. It looks at the effects of pollution on your health. Also have a look at Atmotube Pro, a product that you can use to monitor the air surrounding you, to work out if it is safe to go out. Concussion In SportWith improved diets and training regimes and the use of cutting edge research in sports science, the performance of elite level athletes has markedly improved. Today your NFL, AFL or rugby players are stronger, more agile and fitter than ever before. As a result, in these contact sports, individuals are taking harder impacts to the body and in particular to the head. Slowly we are becoming aware of concussion and its long term effects, (eg memory problems, sleep disturbance and depression). As a result the way we look after someone who has been concussed is becoming better understood.
If you play a sport professionally, you are often surrounded by a team of experts who will monitor every aspect of your health, including a doctor who can make sure that you recover from a concussion. The problem is, if you enjoy sport but do not play for a professional team, you may not get the right treatment, if you become concussed. This can lead to you returning to your sport too early and putting you at risk of further health issues later in life. A useful tool has been developed to help amateur athletes or weekend warriors if they sustain a head injury is ImPACT. How does this work? You perform a test, when you are well that measures different functions of your brain. Should you sustain a head injury, you repeat the test under the guidance of a doctor, to work out the effects of the head injury on your brain. With this information, your doctor can then provide guidance about when you can return to playing the sport that you love. This tool is already being used by professional sports teams, today. For more information, click here Blog post written by Dr Khurram Akhter. Khurram is an experienced primary care physician and a thought leader in the field of digital health. Disclaimer: This text does not serve as medical advice or an endorsement of a particular product but serves as an example of how technology can improve healthcare. If you have any questions, seek advice from your doctor. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a condition where there is long term damage to the lungs causing the pipes in the lungs to become narrow. This makes it hard for air to travel in and out. The commonest cause is smoking where toxic smoke damages the pipes. Symptoms that people experience are a cough, shortness of breath and the production of mucus on a daily basis. The effect of this is difficulty in doing your day to day tasks such as working, going to the shops etc. This condition makes you prone to picking up nasty chest infections which needs to be treated quickly and effectively to prevent serious illness. How Can Tech Help? For the motivated patient, once the condition has been diagnosed, it is important to identify with your doctor, what the cause could be. Once done, make a change. Stop Smoking Often the cause is smoking: I am fully aware that stopping smoking is hard but I guarantee that if you don’t make a change now, your lungs will get worse. You need to find something inside you that will drive you to make a change. It does not matter what it is. My father-in-law is an ex smoker. He stopped overnight. How? His son who was 6 at the time said to him, “I don’t want you to die daddy.” That was enough for him to stop. Technology can support you and the My Quit Buddy app can be used to help but the key thing is that YOU want to make a change. Find that motivating factor and maximise it to kick the habit. Understand What You Are Dealing With The myCOPD app is a very useful resource for information as well as many other things. We have suggested it because it enables you to understand what condition you are dealing with. If you understand, you feel in control. If you feel in control you avoid the feeling of helplessness that many people with a long term problem suffer from, which often then affects other aspects of their life such as their mood. Empowering yourself with knowledge will make you aware of how to slow progression, how to identify that a problem is developing before it becomes serious, how to treat the condition and so on. I have said this on many occasions in my blogs: read it, learn it, own it! Identifying A Problem Your first aid kit needs to be updated. A few pieces of simple technology can open up access to healthcare. Many of these items of technology can be used for other health issues but they certainly have a role in COPD. With this condition infections are common. If not identified or dealt with quickly it can end up with a hospital admission. Having the tools to gain objective information about your health can make a real difference. Two simple items - a thermometer and an oxygen monitor can provide sufficient information that a problem may be brewing. Someone with a high temperature and low oxygen levels and COPD needs to see a doctor soon. It could indicate that you have an infection that may be affecting your lungs ability to absorb oxygen. Add in a digital stethoscope and you can get a GP online to listen to your chest and decide what intervention is needed. Do you need to leave work now and see your GP face to face? Do you need to go to hospital or can this situation wait. Having the technology to hand will give your doctor important information to make a decision on your health. Emergencies
When diagnosed with a long term health condition, it is important to know what to do in the worst case scenario. How to recognise a problem, how to act and when to call for help. It is vital that you learn this or be able to access the necessary information quickly. Downloading the Australian Red Cross first aid app on your phone will give you a resource that you can refer to whenever you need. Our shortlisted range of products are not exhaustive but they serve to highlight what technology can do to help in COPD. Review the website and see if there are other suggestions that you may connect with. Group support sites are often a good source of information and support for people with long term health conditions. Our aim at HealthAide is to signpost you to options that could be of benefit to your health. The digital health industry is growing on a daily basis and new products are coming out daily. Stay in touch with us and let us empower you to make an informed choice about how to look after your health. Blog post written by Dr Khurram Akhter. Khurram is an experienced primary care physician and a thought leader in the field of digital health. Disclaimer: This text does not serve as medical advice and if you have any questions, seek advice from your doctor. |
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