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Telemedicine: Embrace it, discuss it, advocate for your patients
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Google “telemedicine” and you will get 5.3 million results in less than a second. It seems like everyone is involved in telemedicine these days: governmental agencies, health care systems, entrepreneurs. At the very least, they have something to say about it.
For many, there is much more at stake. Whether driven to improve health care efficiency and cost, to engage patients through easier access or to simply make a profit, telemedicine is big business and getting bigger every day – too big for any health care provider to ignore.
So, where do we begin? How do we sift through the mountains of telemedicine information to extract what is beneficial to our patients and productive for our practices? While seemingly daunting at first, it is comforting to know we have likely been engaged in telemedicine for years.
In an effort to define telemedicine, Sood and colleagues found 104 peer-reviewed definitions, suggesting a lack of consensus. That being said, telemedicine is broadly defined as: “The use of telecommunications equipment and information technology to provide clinical care to individuals at distant sites and the transmission of medical and surgical information and images needed to provide that care,” according to Mosby’s Medical Dictionary.
Given this definition, telemedicine is anything but new. Consider the countless telephone conversations, emails and texts we have all exchanged with patients or all the times we have phoned, faxed or electronically submitted a prescription refill. While a bit elementary, each constitutes an example of telemedicine. It is safe to say we are all pretty comfortable with each of these exercises.
Our comfort level, however, comes from more than just a sense of familiarity. It is very much rooted in our involvement. Whether we have initiated the telemedicine encounter or we are responding to a patient or pharmacy request, we are clearly involved.
Unfortunately, as telemedicine grows, many health care providers share the concern of not being involved. Whether a patient is mailing a saliva sample for genetic analysis or purchasing eyeglasses online, most providers are concerned that patients get the right information, proper care, or accurate prescription or device. After all, cyberspace transactions can still be a bit of an unknown.
While I strongly believe in patient education and advocacy, including the Internet as a resource, I am not naïve. I frequently remind patients there is no mystical cyber editing and to proceed cautiously, using only trusted sites. Fortunately, with health care being so regulated, we benefit from some degree of governmental oversight. Unfortunately, it is not enough – and precisely why we play such a critical role.
As I see it, there are three keys to successfully navigating the burgeoning field of telemedicine. First, embrace it. For most patients, telemedicine means convenience. Adopting patient-centric practice policies invariably fosters a positive and inclusive telemedicine experience. Second, openly discuss telemedicine with patients. Tell them what your practice is doing to be more accessible – whether it is texting confirmation of a prescription refill or providing contact lens ordering through your website. Finally, advocate for your patients. Whether it is clarifying a genome analysis or troubleshooting a pair of eyeglasses acquired online, be there for your patients. After all, they value our expertise and recommendations.
In this month’s Primary Care Optometry News, Drs. Len Koh and Kevin Helmuth provide sage advice on navigating the world of telemedicine in, “Ensure quality patient care as telemedicine becomes commonplace”. I am confident you will find it informative, a quick read ... and far less daunting than navigating 5.3 million Google searches.