Telehealth Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What are the Benefits?

Telehealth Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What are the Benefits? Posted By:
...

Never before has there been such a frenzy of media exposure about an infectious disease as there has been surrounding COVID-19. We are faced with constant updates on the epidemiology; numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths locally, nationally, and worldwide; as well as signs and symptoms; and potential treatments, or lack thereof. There is so much anxiety in the public, and when people do get sick, they go into full panic mode. Many do not know where or how to seek health care.

Face-to-face medical office visits are discouraged for potential COVID-19 patients, and when they call for appointments, they are triaged. I am currently working in a drive-through COVID-19 testing site. Most patients I see in the drive through have mild to moderate illness; some have had illnesses for more than 2 weeks with the constellation of typical symptoms attributed to COVID-19. All of the patients and families have anxiety surrounding their condition.

Some of these patients may actually benefit from a face-to-face exam including a heart and lung exam, checking an oxygen saturation, temperature, etc. However, many patients have told me they are unable to find a clinician who will see them for an office visit for ongoing respiratory symptoms. To mitigate this, I suggest a telehealth visit. You can get a decent respiratory assessment in a video visit and make a determination as to whether blood work or a chest x-ray might be in ordercautioning patients to wear a mask when they leave home for essential medical visits.

Having a telehealth visit can be reassuring to patients and it limits the exposure of possibly infected patients to healthcare providers, slowing spread of the disease. Telehealth visits also preserve personal protective equipment for those who need it most. Good care is very possible in a virtual setting, and patients with upper respiratory infections and respiratory symptoms are often suitable candidates for this new and expanding use of technology.

References

Share

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends , Practice Management/Career , NPs & PAs

Sign up to receive posts from The Exchange

Related
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Our Next Great Innovation

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Our Next Gr ...

In 1935, the great British mathematician Alan Turing described a math machine that had limitless cap ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Alternative Medicine Treatment for Skin Conditions

Alternative Medicine Treatment for Skin Conditions

Patients often seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments for skin conditions, inc ...

Filed under: Dermatology, Health Policy and Trends


Continue Reading
How Much News Is Too Much News?

How Much News Is Too Much News?

With the COVID-19 pandemic and influx of global interest in current events, many people started cons ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous


Continue Reading
Diversity in Research and the <em>All of Us</em> Research Program

Diversity in Research and the All of Us R ...

I have been working in the PA field for well over 18 years and have always thrived on knowing that I ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous, Women's Health


Continue Reading
Extensions for Medicare Payment of Telehealth Services

Extensions for Medicare Payment of Telehealth Serv ...

The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services extended the public health emergency de ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Public Health


Continue Reading
Tips on the Insurance Peer-to-Peer Process in Patient Care

Tips on the Insurance Peer-to-Peer Process in Pati ...

Medical care has evolved significantly since I started practicing almost 18 years ago: From paper ch ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Practice Management/Career


Continue Reading