HP Innovation Journal Issue 15: Summer 2020 | Page 29

Acceleration of Change
Healthcare
The doctor
will Zoom
you now:
Telemedicine
is the new
house call.
BY MICHAEL C. KELLER
ILLUSTRATION BY EIKO OJALA
TO CALL LOIS GEISLER reluctant to partake in her
first virtual doctor’s visit would be an understatement.
The 72-year-old Floridian flatly refused to
consider telemedicine, also known as telehealth.
“I’ve never thought about doing a visit like this,”
she says. “I’ve always gone into the doctor’s office.”
But after the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered
doctors’ offices for everything except emergencies,
an online visit with a rheumatologist changed her
mind. With no driving, parking, or time spent
in waiting rooms, she accomplished in 20 minutes
what usually takes her two hours.
“Unless you need to be examined, it’s easier
to do than traipsing to the office,” she says.
Geisler is part of the sea of patients whom the
pandemic has sent to the virtual world. Industry
watchers are calling this the “tipping point” for
a trend that was already gaining traction.
INNOVATION/ SUMMER 2020
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