Virtual Medicine Is Here

By: Melody Rabor-Dizon

 

The advent of telemedicine came earlier than expected. I was once watching a TV clip on Looking To The Future: Medical Trends. Explicitly, they went into detail how one day it will be technology diagnosing us and will be our constant, ever ready on the spot doctor, always available when needed. I remember saying- yah and miss out the power of touch. They went on saying that in the next few years when a patient goes to the ER, all they got to do is to punch all the symptoms they have in a kiosk and viola! It tells you what’s wrong with you and out goes the medicine for your cure specific to your DNA. It even gives you referral and list of things to do and not do. Because of Covid 19 – every single thing we know about life has drastically changed giving us ways and means to still do life in a much different way.

What Is Telemedicine?

Telemedicine refers to the practice of caring for patients remotely when the provider and patient are not physically present with each other making healthcare more accessible, cost-effective increasing patient engagement. The World Health Organization (WHO) refers to telemedicine as “healing from a distance“.

Telemedicine/telehealth or virtual medicine is not new to us because for people in the medical field we are already relying on them. I have been given the opportunity to spearhead in different medical offices the integration of telemedicine. For fear of going out during this pandemic and restrictions brought on by Covid-19 and its endless dangers, the risk of exposure to anyone is increased once we leave our homes. Telemedicine couldn’t come at a better time. My field of chosen profession is those with the elderly, so bringing technology to their home is quite challenging as some either do not have a smart phone, let alone a cell flip phone or even know what wifi is. I usually involve either their neighbors or family when it gets this complicated. It is a much better route for me than having them contract the virus being in the high risk category.

The remote delivery of healthcare services types include but not limited to:

• Interactive Medicine – which allows patients and physicians to communicate in real-time while maintaining HIPAA compliance (video and audio calls)

• Store and Forward – electronic medical records

• Remote Patient Monitoring –use of mobile medical devices to collect data (e.g. blood sugar or blood pressure)

Benefits of Telemedicine:

– Time: There is only so many hours during the day that you could be seen and there is only that 1 doctor you want to see and your concern will be assisted right away, despite the distance.

– Provider accessibility especially those with limited access. Physicians can now monitor their patient’s health over long distances most especially those who have chronic conditions

– Transportation- Patients stay home and avoid traffic and not spend on gas.

– No missing work: Patients can be seen during breaktime

– With real data, treatment plans are updated regularly leading to better outcomes and efficient health care

– Physicians can add volume to practice without the need to hire more staff or increase office space.

– Medication Management, Emergency Room (ER) Diversion, 2nd Opinion, Mobile Health

Disadvantages of telemedicine:

– Unclear Policies : ever changing laws for each state

– Fewer Face-to-Face Consultations: Concerns about patient mismanagement. There is also the potential for error as technology cannot always capture what the human touch can.

– Technology Is Expensive: Implementing a new system requires training and hiring more staff members

My Take:

However just like any other virtual technology, the power of human touch and connection will not be there. Warmth, attention and deep concern cannot be conveyed as much as that can not go through the screen. The barrier is too cold and too solid. And somehow human experience seems to fall short in the virtual world. Sounds like the signs of the times, they say. It’s hard to allay someone’s fears and anxieties. I cannot hold them.

If there’s anything I learned about myself during this season of COVID- it is that the absence of connection dried out my soul. I was hungry for touch, communication, noise, life, movement around me. I know there are times in our lives that we ought to be brought to this – a place of drought and dryness so that we will know and appreciate what it’s like to have plenty, to be filled and to be quenched. There are necessary seasons in life so we can grow. By the time rain comes- I will indulge that thirst, that hunger, that need that no virtual reality can ever fathom what it’s like to be TOUCHED.