Telemedicine Otoscope

Telemedicine Otoscope FAQs

What is telemedicine in healthcare?

Telemedicine is the practice of medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance. A physician in one location uses a telecommunications infrastructure to deliver care to a patient at a distant site.

How do I set up telemedicine?

The best way to use telemedicine is to talk to your doctor or your health insurance company. Ask them if they have a telemedicine program or if they offer telemedicine appointments. Different health providers offer different services, but many adopted some form of telemedicine since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Is telemedicine covered by insurance?

In many instances telemedicine is covered by your insurance, but the only way to know for sure is to ask your insurance provider.

What is telemedicine and how does it work?

Telemedicine is a general term that covers all of the ways you and your doctor can use technology to communicate without being in the same room. It includes phone calls, video chats, emails, and text messages. People also call it telehealth, digital medicine, e-health, or m-health (for “mobile”).

What is a digital otoscope?

A digital otoscope is a portable digital camera, used to view inside a patient's ear canal through the micro-camera in the tip of the device. Usually the camera is assisted by several small LED lights. Teslong otoscopes also include a plastic specula to prevent over-insertion of the camera and keep your eardrum safe. The combination of safe focal distance, specula and LED ring lights allow the digital otoscope to capture photos or video of your ear canal and tympanic membrane.

What is a video otoscope?

A video otoscope is a digital otoscope that records and saves video footage from the otoscope camera. All of Teslong’s otoscopes will record and save both still photos and digital video.

What is a telemedicine otoscope?

Since telemedicine is the practice of medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance, digital otoscopes can be used to aid in the process of telemedicine because they can transmit the view inside the patient’s ear to the doctor in real time, just like a video teleconference. The digital feed of the otoscope can be included in the video conference as a picture-in-picture view, and the doctor can switch to view it in fullscreen mode to magnify all of the details.

Can I use my phone as an otoscope?

Yes, mobile phones can be used as otoscopes when you purchase the correct camera probe. Most Android devices are compatible with USB otoscopes, while iPhones have Lightning connectors so they usually work better with WiFi otoscopes, although some models come with Lightning adaptors.

Can you diagnose an ear infection via telehealth?

Ear infections can have many symptoms and if they become severe require a doctor to diagnose them, but with a digital otoscope a patient should be able to receive an accurate telehealth diagnosis from their doctor, although you need to ask your health provider if this service is available. One good use of a digital otoscope is to take photos or video of your ear when it is healthy and then if you become ill and get an ear infection you can take more photos and video to compare. You, and more importantly your doctor, can compare the before and after images to look for swelling, redness or discharge to aid in the diagnosis.