Virtual Care

IbraK

Since the pandemic started, I've had more virtual appointment with my care team. Most of my appointments have shifted back to in-person but I wanted to reflect on this experience. The pros were of course not having to leave home. However, it felt strange to describe problems but not have a clinician palpate anything. I also sometimes struggled with internet issues and privacy which made me realize that certain people with fewer resources may be negatively impacted by this shift. How have you lived it? More pros or cons? How do you think the implementation of this innovation will impact our care, especially for those lacking resources?

Wendy_L

I have mixed feelings about virtual care, so pros and cons are easy to identify.

Pro: Patients can get more immediate feedback from physicians more efficiently when, in the past, they might have wasted a day on a physical doctor's appointment when all they needed was a few questions answered or a script renewed.

Con: I believe that medicine will always be a hands-on art and that there are unvocalized symptoms that a good practitioner can identify when laying eyes on the full patient. Often patients don't vocalize everything because they think it is unrelated to the condition, but that is not always the case.

In sum, I think the perfect scenario would be that we maintain the option for virtual visits when the provider deems it appropriate, still requiring physical visits when necessary.

Jackie_Z

I'd probably echo what Wendy said.

So many pros for certain types of visits. If I never went in person for a therapy session, I'd be stoked. I feel like most follow-up appointments in general could all be virtual.

But a lot of my appointments with specialists seem harder to do virtually. I would love to see the option for virtual to stick around, it was so helpful for so many people but there will always be times that we'll need a face to face meeting.

Katelyn

I agree with Wendy and Jackie. I'm in remission, so I honestly loved the virtual appointments. It's been easier to not have to go through the hassle of going to the office, sit around in a waiting room, etc., especially when all we needed to do was say, "Yup, everything looks great. Let's touch base again in 6 months unless something comes up." On the flip side, if I was actively flaring, I would not want to do a virtual visit with my GI. I feel like they need to see me and be able to feel my abdomen to assess the situation properly. There's probably a time and a place for virtual visits, and I hope they remain an option, but I don't think they can fully replace in-person appointments.

LaurenEB

I'll just echo a lot of what has already been said.

I love that the pandemic forced the healthcare world into the virtual space in a lot of ways -- most insurance is now required to cover it (at least where I live) and providers that weren't using it have jumped on the bandwagon.

For appointments that don't absolutely require me to be in person, I will always choose virtual. No more lost time waiting in the waiting room or sitting in traffic, no parking fees, etc. etc. The benefits, at least to me personally, have been huge!