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TELEHEALTH FOREVER? Changing health care in real-time Written by Marc Stewart of Heritage Health
The impact of the coronavirus on society may take years to fully understand, but many believe health care has been irrevocably changed by the global pandemic. At the center of slowing the spread of COVID-19 is the idea of social distancing. However, people’s medical needs have to be met, virus or no virus. Fear gripped the country and most people avoided health centers, well, like the plague. “I didn’t want to go into the clinic because of COVID,” says Donna, a North Idaho woman. “I was scared, but I needed my blood pressure medicine. I had to have it.” 22 may • june 2020
Using telehealth, patients can consult with their medical professional via phone and/or computer. Donna was one of the first Heritage Health patients to access telehealth, a service designed to replicate a visit to the doctor’s office. “Telehealth was very efficient,” she says, “It achieved what I needed without having to go to the clinic. I definitely would use it again.” She’s not alone – Heritage Health patients have embraced telehealth with surprising enthusiasm. Does it beg the question: Is telehealth here to stay? “It’s the next conversation on the national scale,”
