VIDEO: Telemedicine changes face of care for IBD patients
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In this video exclusive, Tina Aswani Omprakash, a patient advocate with Crohn's disease, discussed how telemedicine changed patient care.
Omprakash, who launched her blog Own your Crohn’s, won the Patient Voice award in 2019, one of several Disruptive Innovator awards given by Healio Gastroenterology to physicians or patients pushing the status quo toward the betterment of gastroenterology and liver diseases.
She said with telemedicine she has been able to speak to her physicians through their new patient portals and tele-visits without having to constantly travel to see them.
“[Telemedicine] has been a real game changer for me,” Omprakash said. “It really allowed me to explore options without having to travel.”
She said travel was difficult for her and her family because of the expenses that came with it. She had to travel often to visit her inflammatory bowel disease physicians or undergo infusions and surgeries.
Omprakash said telemedicine has changed the face of care for IBD patients. Telemedicine helps patients navigate their care by making it more feasible for them. Telemedicine caters to a patient’s illness and being able to manage work and life.
“This has really helped to improve synergies and maximize those synergies in our care and make sure that we are able to get the best care possible,” Omprakash said.
She hopes telemedicine does continue; she realizes there are some limitations.
“While this has really helped streamline our care as IBD patients, I also do realize there are limitations and we have to decide when to best to use telemedicine,” she said.
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