E-health: the medical care of the future
In the year 2018 everything can be done online: meetings, collaboration, dating, shopping, finding a handyman and of course booking your vacation. With the arrival of e-health we can add something new to that list: receive medical care. Yes, even nowadays you no longer have to go to your doctor for a medical consultation. One of the first Dutch parties to offer solutions in the form of e-health is Vitalmindz.nl. In this blog you can read how e-health works, what the benefits are and what you can use it for.
A doctor's consultation at a distance
Is e-health simply a doctor's consultation but via a webcam? The answer is of course no. Strictly speaking, e-health is a completely new branch of sport, in which your personal health becomes part of your online world. That sounds a bit heavy, but you probably know the various mobile apps that already encourage you to live a healthy life and take 10,000 steps a day. Add to that the interaction with actual experts in the field of health and medicine and you will get an idea of e-health.
Get rid of the thresholds
Through a company like Vitalmindz you can come into contact with various medical experts through a variety of programs, each with its own spearhead. This gives you control over your own health, specifically in the area that you find important. Think of overcoming fears, dealing with stress or overcoming depression. All this of course from the familiar environment of your own home.
In many cases, e-health focuses on mental health. After all, you cannot get away with a broken leg with a broken leg. But there is another important reason why e-health is so good in mental health care. The threshold for coming into contact with a medical specialist via an e-health program is a lot lower on the mental level than via a regular doctor's visit. Many people already have a more or less personal relationship with their doctor and experience it as a taboo to talk about things like depression or stress. Through e-health, such a taboo is easier to break and you can easily contact a specialist who can help you.
At the right time in the right place
A second advantage of e-health is of course being able to receive help and support when it suits you best, at the place that suits you best. You no longer have to change your schedule because the visit to the specialist is scheduled at half past eleven in the morning.
Innovative and preventive
Because of this threshold reduction and flexibility, you see providers like Vitalmindz creating an innovative medical offer. Many of the programs offered have a preventive character: for example, how do you deal with stress at work in a healthy manner so that you prevent a burnout? Applications such as VR glasses (with which stressful or frightening situations can be simulated) are also possible.
Virtual reality therapy
Where do you get stress from? What would it be like to get a grip on this step by step? That is the starting point of Stress jam, a serious game that uses virtual reality. Anyone who has ever had VR glasses knows how quickly you experience the virtual environment. You put on the VR glasses and the sensors measure your stress level in your body. You play the game and learn how to deal with stress consciously. You can see what works for you while you are guided by a coach. Back in real life you notice that you can deal with your stress much better.
E-health opens the doors to the medical care of the future. This mainly concerns being in control of your own (mental) health and responding in time to the possible needs that you experience. You do not have to feel like a patient, but rather someone who is working with his vitality in a well-considered, healthy way.
Ask? Comments? Give your reaction: