I have an appointment with a new nurse practitioner this morning. This should give me someone to handle referrals, since my primary does so through my insurance. I hope this goes well.
There's a lot of talk about telemedicine or telehealth becoming a more primary source of medical contact for patients. While I appreciate the telemedicine I use because it saves me a lot of time, expense & travel. It has it's limits.
It's great for a quick a meeting & update. I wouldn't want it for my regular provider. Everything about telemedicine is different than direct contact. Or I handle it differently. I react to telemed appointments as a visual phone call & my regular appointment as a real world conversation. I'm far more open in person than over the phone. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I am.
Telemedicine will never catch the social, emotional or physical cues, direct contact will. Most people actually don't like to complain or talk about their health. Unless a care provider can read the clues, things will slide.
I think telemedicine is great for maintaining a current situation. However, it has very definite limits. I understand in some areas, it may be the only option. For that I'm grateful, but IMO, it'll never be on par with a physical meeting.
Cya...
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