In a Jan. 8 American Medical Association report, Daniel Marchalik, MD, medical director of physician well-being at MedStar Health, and David Winter, MD, an internist at Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas, shared five tips and best practices for physicians to share with patients to get the most out of telehealth visits.
1. Remember that telehealth is still a relatively new tool, and it will take time to work through some of its minor issues.
2. Just the same as an in-person visit, make sure patients know to come prepared with questions or topics to discuss during a virtual visit.
3. Encourage patients to have a family member present during the visit, if they are comfortable. Having someone else on the call can help with getting video of conditions such as a rash in a hard-to-reach place.
4. Recognize when telehealth may not be the best option, such as for visits requiring a physical exam for the physician to make a diagnosis.
5. When possible, choose video communication so the physician can discern whether they are making sense to the patient during the call by reading their facial expressions and body language.
More articles on telehealth:
Viewpoint: How clinicians should address patient telehealth concerns fueled by the pandemic
FCC gets $250M to relaunch COVID-19 telehealth program, seeks public input
Nearly 1 in 4 healthcare organizations are unsatisfied with or want to replace telehealth platform
