Telemedicine—During and After Covid

Was it only 3 + years ago that our world shut down due to Covid, and the healthcare system had to find new ways to provide care? Many of us experienced canceled appointments or saw that our visits to our healthcare providers were changed to "telemedicine." Actually, this is something that many people have wanted for years. We could have our visit while in our pajamas, and we didn't have to drive to an office and wait for our doctor, who frequently ran late (because our time is not as "valuable" as the doctor's), pay for parking, and spend umteen hours thinking, "if only I could have done this call at home."

In the early days, telemedicine was far from perfect. My husband had an appointment with his cardiologist early on in the pandemic; however, we couldn't get the video to work, and the doctor couldn't get into my husband’s medical records to review his history. We both felt that the visit was not  productive; there were no vitals done (blood pressure, weight, pulse),  no EKG, and no exam. As the pandemic continued, telemedicine evolved, visits were paid for by our insurance plans and we were "caught up" on our healthcare.

During the same time, I had an introductory meeting with an endocrinologist, which was one of the most comprehensive visits I have had. The video worked, and she had all of my records. Of course, seeing an endocrinologist is more conducive to a telemedicine visit.

For the most part, we are back to in-person visits, and I think it is for the best. But telemedicine is still around. What purpose does it serve? We must take each telemedicine on its merit and decide if we should proceed. Earlier this week, I had a scheduled semi-annual visit with my cardiologist (I had a heart attack four years ago). The office called me to change my in-person visit to telemedicine as my doctor "hurt her back" and had to see her doctor that afternoon (I find it somewhat comical that she got to go in person, and I was limited to telemedicine.) In prior times, the visit would have been rescheduled. However, this was better for the doctor as she didn't have to reschedule any visits, nor did she miss any billable hours.
I was tempted to reschedule, but I didn't have the time, and due to her back problem, she wasn't sure when she would be available. However, I recently went to my internist and had an EKG, a physical exam, and a blood pressure cuff at home. I arranged to have my EKG sent to my cardiologist and felt that the visit was adequate.

But what of the average patient? They could have had a mediocre visit (in my opinion). Would they have spoken up and told the doctor of their concerns? Or would they have settled for an ineffective doctor visit?

Telemedicine needs to be re-examined. While it worked during the pandemic, it may not work now. It may help the providers, but before doing a telemedicine visit, ask yourself if it will work for you.