| Topic 1: virtual visits |
10.2 |
visit, patient, virtual, office, time, doctor, video, work |
My physician's office is seeing patients using virtual visits, when possible, through May.
Anyone who thinks a virtual office visit provides the same quality of care as an in-person office visit is seriously deluded. Yet, there clearly is a benefit from this technology in terms of accessibility, and I have used it myself to help people who are unable to visit my office because of debility.
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| Topic 2: benefits of telehealth |
10.0 |
care, patient, technology, good, provider, great, telemedicine, service |
Telemedicine is good if a patient unable to go to their doctors because of many reasons.
You are missing the point of telemedicine. It is designed to provide quicker service, [lessen the] burden of travel expenses for the patient, and increase the point of access of care to allow observation and improved treatment plan adherence. Overall, if this is done responsibly, more patients are provided better service, [and] compliance recidivism decreases.
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| Topic 3: criticisms of telehealth |
9.4 |
telemedicine, patient, exam, physical, care, antibiotic, medicine, physician |
I would opt for physical examination of the physical body, rather than virtual examination via telemedicine, every time.
There are already studies that show that clinicians using telemedicine are more likely to (over)prescribe antibiotics.
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| Topic 4: insurance payment for telehealth services |
8.8 |
patient, phone, care, time, pay, make, insurance, practice |
I've found 90% of cases can be managed over [the] phone or videoconference. If they offer similar reimbursement from insurance, this may be the way to practice in the future.
The government allows doctors to practice telemedicine across state lines but won't allow insurance companies to bid and provide across state lines?
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| Topic 5: telehealth over the phone |
8.0 |
telehealth, physician, health, work, patient, call, medicine, clinic |
Vomiting and diarrhea on Saturday morning. Call primary care physician (35-year history as doctor/patient) for prescription. Answering service: “Sorry, can't prescribe by phone. Go to convenient care.” “Can't. Too sick.” (Silence.) “Hello, telehealth.”
We do a follow-up telehealth call to reach out to review labs, etc, with the patients about 2 weeks later. Great for our shut-in patients. They are willing to pay the extra fees associated for the convenience of this service.
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| Topic 6: legal dispositions for telehealth |
7.6 |
state, medicine, license, practice, board, health care, patient, telemedicine |
The current system requires that doctors who practice telemedicine need a license in each state where potential telemedicine patients are. Consequently, a telemedicine doctor in Utah [who] treats patients in Wyoming needs both state licenses.
Can a physician licensed in a foreign country provide telehealth services to patients in said country while being on US soil?
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| Topic 7: practice of medicine in the era of telehealth |
7.4 |
medicine, patient, doctor, clinical, care, practice, physician, service |
Let the primary physician do the family practice and refer the cases to the respective specialties. Otherwise, patients will become “Amish.”
The inhibition of the nonavailability of direct physical assessments is the major legal hurdle for legalizing the authority of prescribing medicines to telemedicine physicians. But dear, this needs to be seen as follows: To overcome these inhibitions, a doctor who is competent in subject could assess the complaints, in the absence of physical findings, by virtue of [their] experience in assessing the clinical value of complaints of telepatients, who currently use teleservices for [a] second opinion.
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| Topic 8: moving consultations to the patients’ home |
7.4 |
people, patient, health care, work, year, home, telemedicine, health |
Allowing the patient to be seen in the familiar comfort of their home seems to provide a more optimal environment for cooperation.
Huge opportunity for technology to improve health care delivery. The fact that 90% of people have a smartphone opens up endless possibilities to improve how we interact with and support patients. Despite the long-standing emphasis on traditional office visits, the effectiveness of these encounters is not reassuring.
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| Topic 9: impact on patient-physician relationship |
7.1 |
physician, patient, primary care, relationship, medicine, system, health care, doctor |
This certainly creates distance between the patient and physician, decreasing the interpersonal relationship and the comfort of human touch, which is tremendously important in [a] bedside manner.
Believe it or not, there is no perfect technology that will replace the personal relationship of a doctor with the patient.
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| Topic 10: physical examination in the era of telehealth |
6.4 |
patient, exam, care, hand, medicine, system, test, doctor |
The basic tenet of medicine is laying your hands on the patient and examining what's wrong. Telemedicine is junk medicine except for maybe psychiatric consultations. It will drive up costs gradually, with doctors ordering unnecessary diagnostic tests and reviewing results online and treating results instead of the patient. Instead of unifying care and the concept of a medical home, it will splinter care.
In-office visits will soon become archaic remnants of a past rooted in blindly following the old ways. Why would a patient be subject to the time, inconvenience, and danger by subjecting themselves to an in-office visit? And likewise, why would the health care system subject itself to the expense of maintaining staff and facilities necessary for in-office visits? Use of facilities should be restricted to hands-on procedures and assessments only or those requiring specialized equipment.
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| Topic 11: impact of telehealth on care quality |
6.2 |
doctor, patient, time, medicine, bad, family, day, registered nurse (RN) |
The issue of bad medicine is rampant; a consumer requests something, and the prescribing doctor writes for it to make them happy. Telemedicine just makes this problem worse.
Medical boards will become involved in it at some point when a bad outcome occurs and family members get upset over that bad outcome. There will have to be some sort of informed consent that the patient will have to accept the risks of no physical assessment and perhaps an incorrect diagnosis.
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| Topic 12: issues related to telehealth patient appointment and follow-up |
5.9 |
patient, phone, call, appointment, follow, issue, physician, telemedicine |
It is also burdensome to contact any health care provider via a telephone call. So, what are patients and health care providers without access to the necessary technology supposed to do regarding annual follow-up appointments and other medical visits requiring actual physical re-examinations.
Physicians should certainly be reimbursed for patient care, including videoconferencing, and follow-up phone calls.
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| Topic 13: advantages of telehealth for remote and rural areas |
5.6 |
telemedicine, patient, rural, clinic, medicine, hospital, care, remote |
Definitely virtual doctors are a boon to remote, rural areas where [a] doctor is a rare commodity.
This works great for people living in rural areas, with limited access to health care services.
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