1. Ignoring the label

There are a variety of sunscreens on the market. To effectively protect yourself choose a sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or higher, is water-resistant and provides broad-spectrum coverage (meaning it covers you from both UVA and UVB rays)

1. Using too little

Adults need about 1 ounce (size of a golf ball/shot glass) to fully cover their body. Apply a liberally amount to all areas of the body before getting dressed and going outside to allow more time for your skin to absorb and provide the best protection

1. Applying too infrequently

Sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours while outdoors and more frequently if your skin will become wet with activities such as swimming or sweating. Individuals who get sunburned usually don’t use enough sunscreen or didn’t reapply after being in the sun.

1. Relying solely on sunscreen

Don’t forget lip balm with SPF, wear a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses with UV protection, and UPF clothing. Heliocare is an oral supplement that works as an antioxidant to help prevent UV damage and skin aging when used in combination with sunscreen.

Sunscreen is meant to protect your skin against skin cancer and premature aging. However, it is not as effective unless it is applied correctly! Make sure you follow these tips to ensure adequate protection.

As always, if you have any questions about this information or simply need to speak with someone regarding your skin health, then please give us a call.

Village Dermatology

Other recommended reading:

6 myths about skin cancer

How to check yourself for skin cancer

https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/prevent/sunscreen-apply

The post Five ways you may be applying sunscreen incorrectly appeared first on Village Dermatology.

The History of Telemedicine

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It could be seen as something new, strange, or unfamiliar to a generation of medical professionals; however, telemedicine has been in existence since the 18th century. Some doctors still find this concept strange, which is partly why the adoption of telemedicine technology in recent years has been quite slow (until recently with the COVID-19 situation).

The methods of communication and, more specifically, telemedicine, have gradually evolved and improved over time from the initial invention of the electrical telegraph and, later, the telephone.

During the U.S Civil War, the telegraph was used for ordering medical supplies and also to notify family members about deaths or injuries on the battlefield. There is evidence that it was also used to communicate medical conditions and medical care from long distances.  It is important to note that before the invention of the telegraph and the telephone, communication inventions did not necessarily improve the practice of telemedicine. The popular long-distance medium of communication before these inventions was the mail.  As you might imagine, the use of mail to engage in any useful form of medical care was very difficult.

So, what is telemedicine? How did it start and its use over the years? What is its relevance to the health industry? Let’s dig into the facts.

Telemedicine – The Beginning

Telemedicine basically provided the tools for connectivity between people whereby recipients of care and their providers were unable to physically be in the same place at a time.

This idea of communicating with someone not physically present primarily started when ancient societies wanted to establish important communication between the settlements who were faced with internal and external threats.  So, inventions like smoke signals, drums, and horns were developed as a means of alerting someone at a distant location about developing information.  From these very humble beginnings, we can see the rise of telemedicine follow the rise of technology very closely.  This subsequently invented the establishment of clinical connectivity that now exists between patients and their health care provider(s).

Surprisingly telemedicine is not something that started to gain popularity in the technology age. For example, in 1924, the newspaper called Radio News had a black and white cover of a doctor conducting a patient assessment through a radio transmission.  That picture is here on this blog.  This was foreshadowing of what was going to happen over the next 100 years.

It wasn’t long before the medical field started to use the technology offered to them to better care for their patient.  For example, according to the medical literature, the first radiologic images were sent by physicians via telephone in 1948, which spanned 24 miles in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Some of the early use of telemedicine devices consisted of:

• Transmitting EKG rhythms from remote locations to a hospital via the use of voice radio channels
• The use of interactive television microwave link to transmit clinical data
• Using a coaxial cable to transmit fluoroscopic images
• Remote transmissions of EKG and X-ray data

Telemedicine in modern healthcare

Following on from when telemedicine first started, the past fifty years has seen it move into more mainstream use. Kaiser Permanente hospital announced in 2016 that they had seen patients via virtual telemedicine applications more than they have through the traditional in-person visits.

Prior to that, Kaiser Permanente hospital in 2014 to 2015 made use of telemedicine technology by:

• Viewing 37 million tests online
• Sending 20 million emails
• Scheduling over 4 million patient appointments
• Processing more than 17 million patient prescriptions

Although the telemedicine devices used presently might seem similar to those used in ancient times, modern health technology has improved this equipment to become smaller in size but greater in its range of features.

Devices such as fitness wristbands, heart rate monitor wearables are some examples of the modern-day health tools that are used to track patient’s vital data in real-time.

Popular amongst physicians are smart glasses and smartwatches, which in the long run, will become useful in relieving some of the tedious workloads of these doctors. For instance, some medical students at Stanford medical school have founded a digital health start-up that makes use of Google Glass to automatically transcribe medical records while performing patient examinations.

All these concepts and more are just evidence that with the combination of technology, there is more in place for telemedicine than its humble beginnings year ago.

There are still lots of uncharted territory and possibilities in the telemedicine industry that have not yet been explored by both private and government-owned research firms. However, given the explosion of this type of medical care recently, one can only imagine that more firms are going to start investing in this sector.  We here at Village Dermatology have always leaned into technology and welcomed any advances in technology that make our job of serving patients easier and more effective.

Currently, we are conducting patient visits virtually and will continue to do so even after this current situation calms down.  If you would like to have a virtual dermatology visit with any of our providers, then please call us or fill out the form on this page.

Stay Healthy!

Village Dermatology

For more information about Telemedicine check out our other blog entitled \”What is telemedicine?\”

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In clear terms, telemedicine is the use of telecommunications technology to provide education remotely as well as provision of health care services. This also means using said technologies to provide remote clinical services to patients in need of one.

The use of medical imaging like x-ray, medical diagnosis & evaluations including specialist consultations via video consultations are all examples of how telemedicine operates.  Telemedicine is sometimes confused for telehealth, while most times, it is used interchangeably because both represent similar services. Telehealth is a broad term that simply means the dispersion of all health services via telecommunications technology. This usually involves non-clinical services such as administrative meetings, provider training, or explaining medical education.

Telemedicine was first created to basically provide health services to patients based in remote locations, far away from healthcare services or locations where there are limited medical professionals. The success of this method has seen telemedicine explode during this recent COVID-19 public health issue, and we have embraced this platform here at Village Dermatology.

Why Telemedicine?

The answer is simple – In the recent past, both medical professionals and healthcare recipients want to spend less time gaining access to adequate health services.  However, during the COVID-19 pandemic delivering high-level medical services remotely has been perfectly tailored to the CDC recommendations of social distancing and self-quarantine.

In recent years, the rise of telemedicine today is largely due to the factor that people are always on the move and want things done immediately. Moreover, the lack of excess medical professionals available to cater to the health needs of the ever-growing population has also contributed to the rapid increase in the establishment of several telemedicine companies.

Currently, telemedicine has aided our ability to see patients for specific dermatology conditions and offer them the medical support they need at this point in time.  Furthermore, most medical practices have been pushing telemedicine off for years, and now everyone has been forced to use to this technology to treat patients accordingly.  We here at Village Dermatology have always leaned into technology, and we will continue to offer telemedicine visits after we get through this situation.

Some experts say that telemedicine has the possibility of offering 24/7 access to medical services with the assistance of an on-call medical staff employed by the company. Some of these telemedicine companies provide extra clinical staff and specialists to hospitals and large health centers to assist with special cases.  The full story of telemedicine has yet to be written as we all begin dealing with the effects of COVID-19.  However, we are thankful that we are in a position to use these resources appropriately to treat our patients.

What Are The Benefits Of Telemedicine?

Telemedicine has proved itself as an essential aspect of mainstream telehealth. When used right, it is useful for the wider health community as a legitimate form of patient care especially through secure technology.

Here are other advantages of using telemedicine:

• It helps to reduce the burden of having to travel and take time off work for medical appointments especially in situations where there are no clinicians nearby for those that live in rural locations.
• For overloaded clinicians, telemedicine serves as a means to still be able to provide the care even when physical limitations (building, parking, scheduling, etc.) are stretched beyond capacity.
• With the advent of high tech telehealth devices, it is easy to get vital clinical data of patients with critical health challenges such as chronically ill cardiac patients, diabetics or even the elderly populations
• In the event of a public health pandemic (like COVID-19) whereby physical contacts are not allowed, telemedicine is the perfect option to still be able to keep in touch with patients and provide useful health services/advice with the use of technology.
• It saves you money, considering there are fewer ER visits or trips to the doctors, plus fewer missed appointments and cancellations.

Limitations to Using Telemedicine

As is the same with all technological devices, there are some limitations on what telemedicine can be applied to. While telemedicine clearly has its huge benefits as seen above, there are some cons to it that should be put into consideration.

• For some medical conditions, even some dermatology conditions, it is impossible to provide effective health services for them, and you would need to arrange to be seen in person by your medical providers.
  • Maybe technology will continue to develop in this space, but there are some limiting factors that will prevent all medical interactions from being completed remotely. It is always best to trust your medical professional’s advice when they want to see you in person.
• The use of telemedicine could, in the long run, reduce in-person interactions with doctors.

The effects of this would mean physical examinations may become a thing of the past by which it is necessary to make a full diagnosis. Also, dangers such as physical domestic violence may go unnoticed and lead to further health challenges.

Telemedicine Summary

Given the unique situation COVID-19 has put the world in at this time we are all trying to adjust to new realities.  We are thankful that we can still continue to deliver dermatology care to our patients in an effective manner during this fluid time.  We will continue to use technology to deliver the best medical care we can without compromising patient care.  Therefore, please understand that some medical conditions simply cannot be diagnosed or treated remotely and we will discuss options of dealing with those situations when you contact our office.

Finally, please stay safe out there and remember to practice social distancing and wash your hands!  We will get through this!

Village Dermatology

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