Is telemedicine the future of medicine
Covid-19 has without a doubt had a large impact on everyone’s lives. Most of the changes we have experienced are generally considered to be negative, for example the various lockdowns and restrictions, which have stopped us from doing things that we normally would enjoy, such as going out with friends. However there have been some good things to come out of the situation. An example of this is that we have been able to spend more time with our family than maybe we would have. Also many people have found more time to perhaps learn new skills like cooking or mastering another language. One thing that has been used more than ever due to the pandemic is technology, whether it be for entertainment or for staying in touch with people you can no longer see in person. Technology has also played a big part in medicine, even more so than usual in the form of telemedicine, which is the remote diagnosis and treatment of a patient by means of telecommunications technology. This allows a patient to speak with the doctor without having to even leave their home. Obviously this is beneficial as hospitals have been overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, but there are many more benefits to telemedicine that may not be apparent upon first glance.
Telemedicine has been a crucial part of medicine during these times, but I am asking the question whether it could play a bigger role in the future of medicine even post Covid-19.
Examples of specific uses of telemedicine
One of the things telemedicine is suited to is the idea of follow up care, which is a plan that the doctor gives to a patient after they have finished treatment. For example in follow up care to do with cancer there may be physical exams and tests that need to be conducted to ensure the cancer does not come back or spread. It could also include specialist referrals and ideas that can positively affect the patient’s lifestyle like dieting or exercise. (National Cancer Institute n.d.) Telemedicine is ideal for this component of healthcare as most follow up care can be done over the phone and this means the patient doesn’t have to visit the doctor every time, which to some could be an inconvenience. A patient that has had their burns treated will require regular follow up appointments with a burn specialist. A study was conducted to see how patients and the burn physicians felt about using telemedicine for the follow up appointments. 14 consultations took place between a burn physician and a patient. Patients were very satisfied with these consultations, as they found them more cost effective and time efficient than a face to face appointment. The burn physician found the virtual consultations as good as in person visits in terms of burn management. (Redlick et al. 2002, #)
In Japan and Canada diabetes patients have been accessing the healthcare they require for their condition via telemedicine. Yasuo Terauchi, a professor in the department of endocrinology at a japanese university, said that during the first declaration of a state of emergency diabetes patients’ blood sugar control deteriorated as not only were the regular medical check ups disrupted, but also things like their exercise routines were affected as gyms were closed, also many people ate more food during the lockdowns. Another expert, Takashi Kadowaki, who is the president of Toranomon hospital, mentioned how the pandemic also increased stress levels, which is directly linked to blood glucose sugar levels and is also indirectly linked as people deal with their stress in different ways that could be damaging, for example a coping mechanism may be consuming alcohol. However Alice Cheng, an endocrinologist working at Trillium health partners and a hospital in toronto believes that some of her patients’ blood glucose control has improved. The suspected reason for this is that the lockdown gave people more time to exercise and instead of going out to eat people have been cooking their own healthier food, Terauchi agreed with the thoughts of Cheng. As a response to no in-person check ups being allowed the hospitals resorted to telemedicine. The patients liked the use of telemedicine, as it meant that they did not need to take time off work or sit in a waiting room like they normally would. Cheng commented about a survey in which 7,500 people with type 1 diabetes from 89 countries took part in, 28% had experienced telemedicine, of the 28% of participants 86% said that the virtual appointments were useful and 75% said they would continue to use them in the future (Scott and Fontana 2020, #). Cheng thinks diabetes is well suited to telemedicine as the decisions for the treatment of someone with diabetes are made using patient history and lab results. However it is not the perfect solution as there are still some problems, for example diabetes patients have to have their feet examined once a year to check for any signs of diabetic neuropathy, this examination is a lot easier to conduct in person.