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Rebuilding America: Telemedicine Adds Avenues for Physical, Mental Health Amid COVID-19

Publication: Times Record News

While many people are hesitant to change, the COVID-19 pandemic threw the “normal” out the window, leading some people more likely to embrace innovation.

Telemedicine, receiving medical help through telephone or video means, was a burgeoning technology before the virus, but the subsequent shelter-in-place orders and fear of transmission made its use even more valuable.

New approaches to telemedicine visits between cancer patients and their physicians has helped the more than 55,0000 patients who visit Texas Oncology continue their treatment.

Dr. Debra Patt, executive vice president, public policy and strategic initiatives at Texas Oncology, said the organization began telemedicine five years ago in a clinic-to-clinic platform, but recent national and state policy changes due to the coronavirus allowed for patients to meet with their physicians virtually.

While the allowance for physician-to-patient contact is set to be temporarily allowed only during the virus crisis, Patt is optimistic the option could be embraced permanently.

The technology, she said, allows cancer care to continue while patients remain safely in their homes.

Telemedicine options a lifesaver for those with compromised immune systems

For the thousands of cancer patients in the Texas Oncology system who are at a higher risk for COVID-19 complications due to their compromised immune systems, reducing risk by allowing telemedicine visits is literally a lifesaver.

“This is an exciting time to be able to embrace this kind of innovation,” Patt said in an interview in April.

While patients turned initially to telemedicine visits amid COVID-safety concerns, Patt said patients are reporting that the love the new telemedicine platform for its convenience.

Patients must still visit medical centers for in-person care such as cancer treatments, lab work or other essential care, but telemedicine offers an alternative for appointments like new-patient consultations, follow-up visits and survivorship consultations.

Patt said she is proud of federal and state leadership that allowed for the increased use of telemedicine and said it was the right move for Texas Oncology to adopt the technology to ensure the safety of their patients during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

The need for high-speed internet for health workers and patients

Adam Gould, senior vice president of product management with Inseego, a wireless technology pioneer, said the pandemic highlighted the need for more reliable and secure access to high-speed internet for health care workers and their patients.

Mobile hotspots using 4G or 5G “MiFi,” can help bridge a technology gap for many situations, including rural communities with no cable internet, first responders who need access to secure, mobile WiFi, and for patients to have virtual office visits with medical professionals from the comfort of their home.

Gould, who has worked in telecommunications for decades, said the future of medicine was trending toward the “teledoc” model, even prior to the COVID-19 situation.

People are usually anti-change, even in education and working from home, Gould said, but once they become comfortable with a new technology, they wonder how they ever did without it.

Many routine or elective medical visits were cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19. Gould said conducting some amount of these visits through telemedicine could help patients feel safer in their own home during this time and saves the hassle of driving to an office visit and sitting in a waiting room.

While telemedicine was on the rise anyway, a few things that have held it back is the availability of connectable devices that physician could send and receive information.

Another issue is having the technology cheap enough for mass markets and available to remote areas.

Along with virtual office visits, Gould said health technology could assist elderly people in remaining independent in their homes while allowing family members or caretakers to check in on them virtually.

Gould said, for instance, someone could remotely check to make sure the heat was turned on or an app could alert a caretaker if there was no movement for a few hours in the patient's home.

“It is a big trend and now. We are going to take the logical next step as people are more comfortable (with the technology) and may be afraid of leaving the house,” Gould said.

Gould said the efficiency of well-coordinated telemedicine has the possibility of driving down health care costs and increasing access to health care.

“Forty or 50 years ago, doctors made house calls, but that died away because doctors were too busy,” he said.

In-person visits are much less efficient and Gould believes telehealth could effectively triple what a physician accomplishes in a day.

“Everything is up for grabs in this new age we are going into. This fear is not going to go away any time soon,” Gould said.

Gould said Inseego has a long history of working with first responders and one use for the company's technology is "popup" remote capability.

Like a medical version of a taco truck, ambulances or other mobile units could be outfitted with monitoring equipment and basic medical capabilities. The unit could then park outside a supermarket, or other accessible location, connect with a hot spot and offer testing services, for example, or vaccines.

“It’s one further tier of medicine. There’s one at home, the other traditional one, and them one in the middle for blood-pressure monitoring or shots,” Gould said.

Telemedicine making strides in mental health

One avenue for telemedicine that shows great promise is its use for mental health treatment.

Gould said the pandemic has greatly increased the need for crisis hotlines and other mental health outreach programs.

People are becoming more comfortable with the video interchange format (Zoom meetings, Facebook Portal, Echo Show), and Gould said it's possible people will become comfortable meeting with a counselor or psychiatrist in a similar way.

Gould said mental-health treatment that consists mainly of talking with a professional, could be even easier to transition to the virtual format.

“As we spread availability and reach, where there was a barrier before for mental health, it’s possible people at home could become more inclined to reach out,” he said.

For those who suffer from social anxiety, depression or other mental health conditions, therapy at home might even be preferred to an physical visit to an office.

Gould reiterated that telemedicine is here to stay, and while it will not completely replace necessary in-person visits, the convenience, cost savings, and other advantages of remote connectivity are huge.

“People will start to realize the convenience is so much greater. Why wait three hours in an uncomfortable chair when you need a flu shot?” he said.

More information about Texas Oncology's telemedicine can be found here.

View the full story at Times Record News.

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