What to make of Telehealth?
What is it?
Who should receive it, and who provides it?
Here at WPT, we’ve been doing telehealth for over two months now, but we certainly do not know all of the answers to every telehealth question. COVID-19 has dramatically shifted healthcare in MANY ways. Telehealth has been one of the biggest changes we’ve seen, outside of the front line hospitals and staff that are directly treating people with Coronavirus. Medicare has gone from not recognizing telehealth as a paid-for service by many healthcare providers, to approving it conditionally and with several strings attached, to loosening up the restrictions even greater. So naturally, it’s been a constant process of learning, evolving, and re-learning. So, what does all of this mean to you?
Here are some big takeaways that will affect a lot of people in how they access medical providers and seek solutions to their healthcare problems.
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This is likely here to stay.
Covid-19 forced the hand on healthcare to adopt more digital communication with their patients, but it was certainly coming prior to this. So much of the industry has moved and is moving toward digital technologies, and healthcare is no different. Whether you’re a tech-savvy millennial, or someone who’s absolutely intimidated by technology, this is going to be the way a lot of our world moves forward.
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Telehealth will improve access.
Considering the locale of your doctor or physical therapist will become less important with time. The internet and digital communication have made access to people much easier. Many people will eventually choose healthcare providers that are more regional than local. For example, if you expect that half of your doctor’s visits will be done digitally, you may be more inclined to seek out the specialist that is 2 or 3 hours away than the less renowned and less capable local physician.
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Telehealth will cause a craving for authentic, in-person interactions.
There is likely to be a large dichotomy that arises from this pandemic. On one hand, we will want more communication to be done via Skype or Zoom, and yet, there will be longing for in-person interaction that we simply can not yet achieve with a computer or smartphone. We believe this will result in people expecting a more personalized, REAL experience when they are receiving their healthcare in person. There certainly are some things that just can not replace a physical shoulder to cry on, or an ACTUAL hand to help you up when you’ve fallen down.
We hope this email finds you healthy and well. We also help the content is relevant and helpful. Please let us know if you have any questions or needs, and we’ll be happy to help out!
