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The answer to the most basic question surrounding telehealth — ‘Is it as good as in-person care?’ — is anything but simple, according to Dr. Joseph Kvedar. In this piece, he examines the pros and cons of different types of clinical research and shares examples from recent literature that can help uncover some answers.
The problem with digital health adoption? Developers (especially startups) want to move quickly, whereas physicians want to see evidence, which can be “time-consuming and expensive to obtain,” according to Joseph Kvedar, MD.
Simply saying that telehealth is the right thing to do, or that patients demand it, won’t be enough to resist the magnetic force drawing us back to in-person care, says Joe Kvedar, MD. “We need to come up with logical, financially sound reasons for providers to pivot long term.”
As telehealth crosses the threshold from ‘toy’ to tool, it’s imperative that healthcare organizations offer clinicians education and certification that is rigorous, research-based, and steeped in collective experiences, says Dr. Joseph Kvedar.
Although huge strides have been made in putting the consumer at the center of their care, we’re still miles away from a world in which consumers and patients are one and the same, says Dr. Joe Kvedar, who summarizes findings from a recent symposium.
