Connected Care
Coronavirus Pushes Telemedicine to New Levels
KRISTEN UPPERCUE
The coronavirus pandemic brought with it heightened attention to many of the disparities facing rural West Virginians , including the burden of traveling long distances to receive health care . It also brought new habits , such as social distancing and quarantining , to limit the virus ’ s spread — increasing overall acceptance and the level of importance placed on bringing telehealth services to the Mountain State .
“ The concern over COVID-19 and social distancing pushed the need for physician and patient encounters to be managed over telemedicine whenever possible ,” says Matthew Upton , M . D ., chief medical officer at Thomas Health . “ In the past , physicians and patients were both reluctant to break the traditional model of doctor / patient visits , but with COVID-19 , that changed quickly .”
Understanding Telemedicine
Telehealth refers to health services provided using telecommunications technology , such as by phone or video . Telemedicine , a subset of telehealth , refers to the clinical services provided through this technology .
In West Virginia University ( WVU ) Health System ’ s facilities , the largest percentage of telehealth occurs over video visits . Similar to the process of using FaceTime or Zoom , the patient will be on one end of the conversation with a physician on the other through an encrypted , HIPAA-secure service , according to Shannon McCallister , assistant vice president for population health and telemedicine for WVU Health System .
WVU Health System also provides telemedicine care through an ambulatory setting . Through this care model , patients can travel to one of WVU ’ s regional centers in the state rather than traveling to Morgantown to see a specific doctor or specialist . There , an advanced practitioner will facilitate the physical exam needed by using a telemedicine cart made up of specific devices like stethoscopes and magnifying glasses that feature microphones and cameras so the physician on the other end of the call can also see the results of the exam . Through this process , the physician can examine and assess the patient virtually just as they would if the patient had traveled to their facility .
Many of the other health systems in the state have also focused on using video visits , which allow physicians to complete limited physical exams as well as follow-ups and allow ancillary staff like social workers , care managers and pharmacists to monitor a patient at home , significantly decreasing the number of times a patient would need to travel across the state for these services .
“ The ability to harness and leverage these capabilities can move the needle with our state ’ s population ,” says Mark Gilliam , chief administrative officer at Mon Medical Center and chief information officer for Mon Health .
Jaschar Shakuri-Rad , D . O ., urologist and director of robotic surgery at Mon Health , believes these services will stick around even after the pandemic comes to an end .
“ Telemedicine is nothing new ; it has been around for quite some time . However , with the pandemic , the government allowed us to utilize it more broadly and really show what it ’ s capable of ,” says Shakuri-Rad . “ Using telemedicine over the past several months , we have learned we can really assist patients and provide better , more convenient and safer care in some instances .”
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE