Day: May 25, 2021

telemedicine

What Is Telemedicine and How Does It Work

You wake up one morning to sniffles and a high temperature. Dragging yourself out of bed, you begin to make your sluggish way to the clinic.

Travelling makes you feel even worse, and when you finally reach the queue seems to never end, and the cacophony of people coughing and sniffling around you builds. 

If only there was a way to visit the doctors without being in close proximity to the sickly crowds, the glacial waiting times and the travelling…

Welcome to telemedicine.

Telemedicine platforms have seen a meteoric rise due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with more and more people feeling comfortable meeting and consulting their doctors over their smartphones or laptops rather than the traditional way of going down to the clinic or hospital for a medical appointment. 

What Is Telemedicine? 

So what exactly is telemedicine? 

It is most commonly described as the use of communication technology to connect individuals to their doctors who can provide them with the healthcare services they need. With the advancements in technology and video conferencing platforms, like Zoom and Google Hangouts, rising in prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic, the traditional doctor-patient relationship no longer needs to be confined to a physical visit to the clinic. 

This is not only beneficial for individuals with reduced mobility, but it also makes booking and attending doctor consultations more convenient for everyone as it diminishes the need to physically travel from home to either a hospital or clinic and also allows for more flexibility when it comes to scheduling appointments. 

How Does Telemedicine Work? 

There are currently a whole host of telemedicine platforms available to the masses, either set up by private healthcare providers or insurance companies, which can offer doctor consultations, prescription of medications and provide medical certificates to patients. 

Should you have access to a reliable internet connection and have either a computer or a smartphone on hand, you will be able to utilise telemedicine as a viable way to consult a doctor. 

For most telemedicine platforms, you will first need to sign up and do up an application that will have you list out your medical history. After signing up, you will most likely have to answer some questions about your current medical issue so that you can be referred to an appropriate doctor who can diagnose and treat the medical condition. 

The consultation will take place over a video conference call either on your computer or smartphone where the doctor can assess and diagnose your medical condition. After doing so, they can prescribe and get the medication you need delivered. They can also provide you with an electronic medical certificate should you need it. 

Who Is Telemedicine For? 

While telemedicine makes it convenient to consult with your doctor, it is not always suitable for every case. By providing healthcare services through video conferencing calls, doctors can be limited with how accurately they can diagnose and treat complex health conditions through an electronic device. For example, patients with health conditions that require extensive laboratory testing like hypothyroidism or anemia are advised not to use telemedicine consultations, and should instead meet their doctor face-to-face. Telemedicine consultations are also not suitable for emergency situations like heart attacks, strokes or broken bones. Health conditions that require immediate medical attention should be done in person at a clinic or a hospital. 

Telemedicine is best suited for simple medical conditions or for follow-up consultations with your doctor. For example, should you have caught the common cold, flu, sore throat or other common health issues, these are best addressed using telemedicine as you do not need to travel down to a clinic to get a diagnosis, and can get prescription medication delivered directly to you. 

How To Check The Legitimacy Of A Telemedicine Platform 

To ensure your safety and to avoid cases of medical negligence or malpractice from occurring, it is important that before you engage with a telemedicine platform and share private medical information, you check that they are a legitimate healthcare provider that has been registered with your country’s health department. 

Telemedicine platforms are legally obligated to ensure that the doctors they engage to provide consultations are competent and qualified to do so. Before engaging with the telemedicine platform, check that the doctors they have on staff are listed on the registered licenced practitioners in your country. 

Telemedicine can be a convenient way for individuals to get the medical care they need at their convenience without having to travel down to a clinic or a hospital. However, telemedicine will not replace the need for face-to-face consultation as there are still many instances where telemedicine consultations will not be suitable (such as emergency situations and for complex health conditions that require extensive laboratory testing). It is also important that the patient ensure the telemedicine platform they are looking to engage with is legitimate and registered with the country’s health department as a healthcare provider to avoid cases of medical malpractice or negligence. 

Writers Blurb

Jules Loke is a Content Writer for Noah and Zoey, a digital health clinic for men and women alike in Singapore.

packaging

Custom made boxes for your brand 5 easy steps

If you own a business that sells products, you will know that packaging is a necessary part of the item. Some brands may not put much focus into this and make it carelessly. However, this is a bad idea because the packaging is often the first impression that a business gives about itself. If this impression is not good shoppers will avoid buying from your brand. Custom made boxes that keep in mind some points can help a business out.

The following are 5 steps you can keep in mind when designing custom packaging:

Know who you are making packaging for

Before doing anything find out who your customer base is. Only when you know who these people are can you make packaging that they will be drawn towards. If the customers are not known, then you will not know what they want from the packaging.

Research on the gender, geographical location, age, shopping habits, etc. of the consumer base. According to this, you can figure out what colors, designs, images, etc. to use on the boxes.

For example, if a brand is selling toys or cereals for kids, the boxes will be bright and have cartoon characters printed on them. Kids are attracted to this stuff.

A product for adults like cigarettes will be decent and serious looking. It will not make kids want to but it.

Get strong material

If you have wonderful custom box printing, but the box is made of weak material and is breaking, you will not stand out. The box has to be made of the best packaging material that is perfectly suited to it. There are many options available now that you can choose from. Invest in something good if you want to show customers that you care about quality.

Top materials that can be considered include cardboard, corrugated cardboard, Kraft. They are all strong and usually safe. For instance, food will remain fresh in them. They do not have chemicals that can go into the food and harm it. This makes it unhealthy for people to consume.

The materials are also environmentally friendly. It is a necessity to select this type of packaging nowadays. Many consumers are conscious of what careless packaging does to the environment. This is why they are forcing brands to choose “green” packaging materials.

Create informative packaging

Custom box printing should be informative. It must tell people all the important details about the product. You will have to find out what customers need to know and include this in the box. It depends on what the product is.

For instance, if you are selling food items, you need to tell what the product is, its ingredients and nutritional information, manufacturing and expiry dates, health warnings, etc. You can also include instructions on how to store. If there is a certain method on how to cook the food, state it.

Cosmetic products need to tell the ingredients. This is because there are some which are good for certain skin types whilst others should be avoided. Customers need to know what skin type the product is for when to use till, how to use and store, etc.

Also, state special features about the merchandise which will encourage people to want to buy it. You need to convince customers that your product is better than that of the competition. It is vital to be truthful here.

For example, if the skin care product is dermatologically tested, let people know about this. If it has special ingredients that are excellent for skin, state it clearly.

Some food products may contain only natural ingredients which are preferred by many. If your products are like this, let it be known.

Let the brand get an established presence in the market

Custom packaging can help increase brand awareness. The brand needs to be known in the market if you want to get customers. For this, a business should create a logo that is short and memorable. It must stand out on the packaging. The logo will help shoppers recognize products from your business in a store.

Other details that can be included on the packaging are the physical address of the business, its contact number, email address, social media links. Only when customers know the address of your eCommerce website will they visit it and check out what you are selling.

Create the right size and shape boxes

Custom box printing should be able to make the right size boxes. For this, you will need to measure the product and according to this, the right box will be made. Size is important as it helps ensure the safety of the merchandise.

A really large box will result in the product moving around and harming it. Customers will not get a good impression if this happens. You will be using money on material that is not needed. The box will be heavier so transportation costs will be more. A really small box will result in products getting congested and spoilt.

A unique shape also allows packaging to stand out. But the shape should not be one that cannot easily be stacked on a store shelf. It should not compromise the safety of the product inside.

Custom product boxes are an important part of the packaging. You need to know what colors, designs, images, patterns, to include on the boxes will attract the right customers. It is important to draw the eyes of those people who will think about making a purchase. Get strong boxes that will show customers that quality is of importance to you. Look at color psychology which will help you choose the right colors which give a good feeling. Know who your customer base is so that the packaging design can be made according to what they are drawn towards.