Because telemedicine physicians aren’t in the room in person, there are unique skills and attributes they must cultivate to forge and maintain a relationship with the patient and their family. Every Access TeleCare physician has honed the ability to “break through the screen” to eliminate any barrier to the best physician-patient relationship possible.
Chris Gallagher, M.D., CEO of Access TeleCare discusses these attributes in an Executive Q&A with Healthcare IT News:
“For telemedicine to have long-term staying power, and not just be today’s short-term fix, it must be deployed not as a commodity or as just a technology platform but as a holistic model of care with its own distinctive set of skills and attributes.
Telemedicine is not simply the replacement of in-person care. There are practices and behaviors unique to telemedicine that must be learned, practiced, and honed. Because they are virtual, telemedicine physicians need a very high level of emotional intelligence and different tactics from their brick-and-mortar colleagues to connect emotionally and personally with patients, their families and caregivers, and other health professionals. Telemedicine specialists need to be effective at minimizing the physical barriers to interpersonal connection and maximizing the integrity and effectiveness of the patient-physician relationship.”
Learn more about Access TeleCare’s approach to delivering clinical excellence through telemedicine here.
