How To Become the CEO of Your Own Health
Between a career, family and life in general, it’s no surprise that our personal health often ends up taking a back seat. Thankfully, as technology evolves, so does the healthcare industry allowing everyone from home makers to business travelers to address their healthcare through telemedicine.
Because of its many modern day benefits, telemedicine is now one of the fastest growing segments of the healthcare industry with an expected market growth of $113.1 billion by 2025. In fact, between 2004 and 2014, the use of telemedicine services increased by 45 percent every year for mental health visits alone.
Telemedicine uses phone calls, video chatting and patient-entered data to help diagnose and treat patients remotely, reducing the cost and inconvenience of a traditional in-person visit. Through telemedicine services such as Akos, patients can simply use their smartphone or tablet to access board-certified physicians anywhere, anytime, within minutes.
Telemedicine: Healthcare on your time
When you’re sick, you’d like to see a doctor as soon as possible but that doesn’t usually happen as appointment times just aren’t available when you need them. And the long wait times at urgent care centers or emergency rooms certainly don’t help. Telemedicine, however, allows you to speak with a doctor almost immediately, and in many cases, from the comfort and convenience of your home. Most telemedicine providers give patients access to 24/7 healthcare with board-certified physicians from their local area.
Make mental health a priority
According to a report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, over 40 percent of employees report their job as being overly stressful, and 75 percent of employees believe that they have more on-the-job stress than the previous generation. Outside of workplace stress, there are other mental health conditions that many struggle to receive care for, such as depression and anxiety disorders. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, almost 90 million Americans live in areas with a shortage of mental health professionals.
For those unable to access mental healthcare through traditional in-office visits, telemedicine offers alternative options that are often more convenient and less costly.
Quality healthcare leads to quality work
Every year, employee illness and injury costs employers $225.8 billion dollars. If you are an entrepreneur or have your own business, your income may depend directly on your health. Not only could you lose full days to illness but your productivity could also suffer on the days you need to work while feeling unwell. Telemedicine can provide you with on-demand care to help get you back to work and back to your health as quickly as possible.
With healthcare as one of the most highly debated topics in the U.S., it’s important to find reliable care that you can count on when you need it most. Telemedicine connects patients with physicians for many of their healthcare needs and allows physicians to treat patients who may otherwise not have access to the care they need. New platforms such as telemedicine remove barriers like distance and conflicting schedules to provide the best care possible.
This guest post was authored by Shawn Smith.
Shawn Smith is a seasoned marketing strategist and has been with Akos since the company’s inception. Shawn brings nearly 25 years of brand strategy and integrated marketing experience to Akos. With a skillset that includes partnering with core business operations to increase company performance, expand market share and generate sustainable revenue and profit, Shawn has worked for both Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups, marketing everything from emergency medicine to consumer packaged goods. Prior to joining Akos, Shawn served as the Director of Marketing at Emerus Hospitals, a startup organization in emergency medicine that pioneered an innovative business model in the way emergency medicine is delivered. Shawn was brought to the executive management team to build and lead the brand vision. She launched corporate and joint venture brand identities and marketing campaigns. Shawn also built and managed a patient relations team designed to elevate the overall patient experience.
