Photo Credit: by Gustavo Fring, Pexels.com
The coronavirus pandemic left us with the health impacts of long COVID, a greater understanding of the importance of mental health, a changed labor market, and a meteoric rise in telehealth services. And while some of those vestiges are pain points, telehealth's availability has been a boon to many people. A myriad of people find it incredibly helpful to pick up the phone or log onto the computer to access a doctor. And not only can patients gain access to doctors, but they can gain access to medications, too. This opened up a whole new method of treating people who have chronic conditions, may be housebound, have a communicable illness, are in rural areas, and more. So, let’s take a look at how telehealth is changing access to medications and healthcare overall.
What Is Telehealth and Why Did It Become So Popular?
Telehealth is just one of the ways that the internet has changed our everyday lives. According to the Mayo Clinic:
“Telehealth is the use of digital information and communication technologies to access health care services remotely and manage your health care . . . Telehealth can also be technology that your healthcare provider uses to improve or support health care services.”
In other words, you might use a smartphone or laptop and the Internet to access health services, such as making an appointment with your family doctor.
Telehealth, sometimes called e-health or m-health (for mobile health), became important during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep both healthcare workers and patients safe. While its use has decreased from pandemic numbers, it is still up dramatically over the pre-pandemic amount.
According to the American Medical Association, pre-pandemic, only 5% of patients accessed care via telehealth. These numbers spiked to 70% in 2020. In 2022, however, about 25% of patients used telehealth care. The system was in no way ready for the influx of telehealth visits needed during the pandemic. Hence, many people were happy to move back to in-person appointments thanks to poor usability and technical issues. However, the American Medication Association says it fully expects the number of telehealth appointments to climb again, but now slowly, over time, in a more natural way.
Telehealth offers many potential benefits. These include:
• Making healthcare easier to access no matter where you live or your access to transportation
• Keeping everyone safe if you have an infectious disease
• Offering primary care for many conditions
• Making services more accessible to those with disabilities
• Making chronic condition management easier
• Offering access to specialists
Having a doctor’s appointment from the comfort of your own couch or office, avoiding transportation and parking, avoiding additional childcare, and avoiding additional time off work, among other benefits, are certainly factors that explain why telehealth has become so popular.
How Telehealth Makes It Easiest to Get Your Medication
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, almost half of all Americans used at least one prescription drug in the last 30 days, and nearly 72% of doctor’s visits involve drug therapy. Despite that, there are barriers to receiving those prescriptions. A person has to wait for an available appointment with their doctor, they may have to book time off work or get childcare, they have to arrange transportation, and they have to pay for parking all to go to a doctor’s appointment that might take minutes to get a prescription. On top of that, their health may be worsening the whole time.
Some might suggest that this system is broken. But telehealth can help.
Telehealth allows you to get a prescription from the comfort of your own home or even office. The advantages of using telehealth to access your medication include:
• Convenience and accessibility—mobility issues don’t need consideration, and you can even have a doctor’s appointment in your pajamas.
• Expanded healthcare reach – your geographic region no longer limits you. This is particularly beneficial for those in rural areas.
• Enhanced privacy and record-keeping – most telehealth platforms are HIPPA compliant, keeping your health information secure.
• Efficiency – your prescriptions get sent to your chosen pharmacy, and they can wait for you when you arrive. (In some cases, medications may even be able to be shipped to your home.)
• Cost-effectiveness – in addition to no longer worrying about paying for transportation and parking, many online platform interactions are paid for by insurance.
What Medications Can You Get Through Telehealth?
Telehealth prescriptions are just like any other type, and most medications are available via a telehealth appointment. The three main categories of medication that can typically be prescribed during a telehealth appointment include mental health medications, chronic health condition medications, and simple prescriptions such as antibiotics.
Mental health medications that can be prescribed in telehealth appointments include categories like antidepressants and, anxiolytics and hypnotics, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers. This means that conditions like depression and anxiety disorders can be managed long-term via telehealth. This is a huge win for those who may experience severe doctor appointment anxiety. Examples of these medications include:
• Vortioxetine (Trintellix)
• Vilazodone (Viibryd)
• Bupropion Hydrochloride (Wellbutrin XL)
• Buspirone (Buspar)
About 45% of Americans manage one or more chronic conditions. These long-term illnesses often require prescription after prescription, appointment after appointment. These people will be thrilled to learn that these conditions can often be managed via telehealth. This includes conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Common medications that are prescribed for these types of conditions include:
• Dapagliflozin (Farxiga)
• Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• Lisinopril (Zestril)
Telehealth also makes it easier to get prescriptions for medications that many people use every day, like birth control, and ones that are frequently prescribed, like antibiotics. Common medicines of this type that are prescribed include:
• Ethinyl Estradiol/Levonorgestrel (Alesse)
• Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol (Yaz)
• Amoxicillin (Amoxil)
Don’t Forget About Online Pharmacies
Need your medication delivered right to your doorstep? Consider an online pharmacy from Canada. They often offer lower prices on popular medications, both brand-name and generic. Plus, you'll have access to a wider selection of options worldwide. When comparing prices, remember that medication names can vary by country. Always verify that your online pharmacy is CIPA-certified to ensure quality and safety.
What Are the Challenges of Using Telehealth for Medication Access?
While telehealth is democratizing access to medications worldwide, it is not without its challenges.
For example, not everyone has the technology available for effective telehealth appointments. We often think of everyone having access to a smartphone, laptop, and reliable internet connection, but this just isn’t the case. According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2023, one in five households isn’t online – about 26 million households. While some households say they have no interest in being online, about one in five say they can’t afford home internet service. The good news is that subsidy programs such as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the Digital Equity Act, and other initiatives aim to increase digital skills, equip people with suitable devices, and ensure important online services are accessible to all.
Additionally, payment for telehealth appointments can be an issue. Not all insurance plans cover telehealth appointments from all providers, and Medicaid coverage for telehealth appointments varies from state to state. Flexibility in telehealth abilities and coverage has dramatically increased since the pandemic, and it will likely continue to improve over time. Not all situations and medical visits can be done by telehealth, especially if a doctor needs to perform an exam to detect what problem a patient may have. This is why it is important to check with your doctor and provide all your symptoms so they can determine if you need to be physically seen.
Medication Access Through Telehealth Becomes More Popular Everyday
While only a few years ago, it was rare to find healthcare providers who supported telehealth, now it’s commonplace. Nowadays, contacting a doctor for a prescription can be as quick and easy as picking up your smartphone. This is a boon for patients at large, but specifically for those who may be in remote locations or who struggle to leave the house.
Initially, there were concerns about prescribing certain types of medication. The Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed a full set of telemedicine flexibilities regarding prescribing controlled medications by authorized providers. Certainly, access to common medications, such as levothyroxine (Synthroid) for thyroid treatment and albuterol (Ventolin, Proventil, etc.) for asthma, is a given. Additionally, online pharmacies make medication delivery easier than ever, as medications are mailed to your home.
While telehealth isn’t available to 100% of patients just yet, with greater acceptance of the practice by insurance companies and programs designed to ensure that everyone has access to the required technology, universal telehealth availability is coming.
Sources
1. American Medical Association & American Medical Association. (2023, January 9). What to expect in telehealth in 2023? Here are 5 predictions. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/digital/what-expect-telehealth-2023-here-are-5-predictions
2. Fatima, W. B. A. (2024, March 28). How do you get a prescription online via Telehealth? Family Urgent Care. https://famurgentcare.com/blog/how-do-you-get-a-prescription-online-via-telehealth/
3. Internet, broadband fact sheet. (2024, January 31). Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/
4. Medicare and Medicaid policies. (2023, November 8). telehealth.hhs.gov. https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/telehealth-policy/medicare-and-medicaid-policies#medicare-telehealth-flexibilities
5. Prescribing controlled substances via telehealth. (2023, October 16). telehealth.hhs.gov. https://telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/telehealth-policy/prescribing-controlled-substances-via-telehealth
6. Raghupathi, W., & Raghupathi, V. (2018). An Empirical study of chronic diseases in the United States: A Visual Analytics Approach to Public Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(3), 431. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030431
7. Switched off: Why is one in five U.S. households not online? | National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (2022, October 5). https://www.ntia.gov/blog/2022/switched-why-are-one-five-us-households-not-online
8. Telehealth: Technology meets health care. (2024, September 5). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/telehealth/art-20044878
9. Therapeutic Drug Use. (2023, November 3). National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm
10. U.S.: number of households 1960-2023 | Statista. (2024, July 5). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/183635/number-of-households-in-the-us/