The modern medical industry in the United States is truly vast, and Americans can get access to a wide variety of medical treatments. Not everyone is being rushed into the ER; many people are visiting pharmacies to get prescription drug refills, or they are consulting pain clinics to get chronic pain relief or even visiting nutritionists. Meanwhile, general doctors may see a lot of patients in a given week, and these doctor clinics get a lot of traffic. Guests there may have issues with different parts of the body, such as the nose, ears, eyes, scalp, throat, and more. This is the domain of ENT doctors, or “ear nose and throat” doctors. They are in high demand, and guests at their clinics may soon get a diagnosis on their problems. What is more, someone who needs medical aid but cannot easily visit the doctor’s office may turn to telemedicine to consult an ENT doctor. How might that work?
The Business of an ENT Doctor
A typical doctor’s office may see a few hundred patients per week, and anyone who needs to see the doctor this way may look one up online if they have to. This may be useful if a person recently moved to a new city or county and does not yet know all the local healthcare providers. So, an online search such as “ENT in Plano TX” or “ENT doctor offices near Dallas” can help for patients looking for help in Texas, for example. If desired, the seeker may even specify their ZIP code or specify that they are looking for the top rated doctors in their area. Online, a person may review a doctor’s offices hours, address, and patient reviews for reference.
After spending time in the waiting room, a guest may then be looked over by an ENT doctor. As the name suggests, these doctors can easily identify issues with a patient’s ears, their nose and nasal cavity, or their throat. For example, a person may be suffering from “swimmer’s ear”, and there might be an infection. Or, if the patient’s eardrum is damaged, they may have suffered a partial hearing loss and may need to be referred to a specialist. In the throat, there may be problems such as a strep throat or damage to the throat lining. The guest at the doctor’s office may have serious congestion in their nasal cavity or an infection.
Any of these and other issues may involve the ENT making a diagnosis, then some combination of a prescription medication and referring the patient to a specialist for further care. It may also be noted that these doctors may not only take care of the ears, nose, and throat, but they often can look over the patient’s entire head or neck and diagnose other issues, too. A patient might have a problem with the eyes, or they might have a strange rash or a problem with their neck muscles. Nothing is being guaranteed here, but an “ears nose throat” doctor might have expertise well beyond those three particular areas.
Consulting Virtual Doctors
Most often, Americans who need medical care will visit a doctor’s office to get looked over, but for some people, this option is either unappealing or impossible. For example, some Americans who need care might not have any transportation to a doctor’s office at all, or they may suffer a fear of bacteria or going outside at all. Or, the local doctor’s office is getting so much business, a person may not see any chance to get taken care of there. In yet other cases, a person will need medical care but the nearest doctor’s offices are closed at the time.
This is where telemedicine comes in. With advanced video chat technology today, it is fully possible for a person to look up “virtual doctors near me” or something to that effect, and find doctors who can help them at any time of day. This is a flexible and convenient option for many patients, and with video and audio, a person can show the doctor their problem and the doctor may make a diagnosis. With Cloud data storage access, a doctor can also get their hands on any person’s medical records as needed during such video chat sessions.
