<p>Dobberfuhl is not alone. </p><p>With policy changes enacted at the state and federal level earlier this year, including requirements that insurance companies <a href="https://austonia.com/telemedicine-offers-health-care-at-a-social-distance" target="_self">reimburse doctors</a> for telemedicine appointments, the technology finally made financial sense for many local physicians.</p><p>"Sadly, if it's not getting paid for, it's not getting done," Dobberfuhl said.</p><p><a href="https://www.healthit.gov/topic/health-it-health-care-settings/%20-and-telehealth" target="_blank">Telemedicine</a>—which includes live videoconferencing, recorded videos, remote patient monitoring and mobile health, such as texts—offers convenience and limits doctors and patients' exposure to the coronavirus. </p><p>But there were kinks to work out.</p><p>"Everything was sort of bottlenecked through telemedicine," said Dr. Terry Rascoe, medical director of telemedicine virtual urgent care for Baylor Scott & White Health, which expanded its telemedicine services <a href="https://austonia.com/telemedicine-offers-health-care-at-a-social-distance" target="_blank">early on in the pandemic</a>. </p><p>Over the last eight months, however, physicians and patients alike have discovered the benefits of telemedicine—and been able to return to in-person visits where they make sense now that the state has allowed elective procedures to resume. </p><p>"It was a crisis period (in March and April)," said Dr. Ashis Barad, medical director of virtual specialty care services for BSW Health. "We were replicating in-person care back then out of necessity. Really the hope now is to enhance care."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjkxMDE2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzgwNjUzMX0.8ik0qBqJZBPaJtnL_2RcENC7KxniTAGcfCJJERBEHU8/img.jpg?width=980" target="_blank"><img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4fc65ae2446d4f9e44adfb1edffe29ed" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="15c35" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjkxMDE2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzgwNjUzMX0.8ik0qBqJZBPaJtnL_2RcENC7KxniTAGcfCJJERBEHU8/img.jpg?width=980"/></a>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
(Steven Dobberfuhl)</small>
</p><p><strong>The telemedicine revolution</strong><br/></p><p>For Barad, who is also a pediatric gastroenterologist, this means using telemedicine for follow-up visits and for those families who may live far from his Temple clinic, which serves dozens of counties in Central Texas. </p><p>"Patients are going to drive this," he said of telemedicine's continued use. "And I think in general, our patients love telemedicine." </p><p>Other physicians echoed this assessment.</p><p>Although no longer a necessity, telemedicine continues to save patients time. Instead of spending hours commuting to a doctor's office and possibly losing out on pay, they can instead pop into a video or phone call for 30 minutes. </p><p>"The patients are really seeing the benefit of not having to take a half day off of work," Dobberfuhl said.</p><p>There are also benefits to the doctors themselves. </p><p>Dobberfuhl likes getting a glimpse into his patients' homes—a kind of 2020 house call. </p><p>"For better or for worse, I kind of like having a little bit of that insight," he said. (Although there are some occupational hazards that crop up: "I've had patients not put on shirts.")</p><p>Overall the change has been a positive one.</p><p>"It's a good revolution," Dobberfuhl said. "We all really hope that parts of it stay (beyond the pandemic)." </p><p><strong>A tool in the toolbox</strong> </p><p>But telemedicine is not a panacea.</p><p>Many physicians and private practices are still reporting depressed patient volume as a result of the pandemic and haggling with insurance companies over reimbursement rates. </p><p>"They're still struggling," said Tom Banning, CEO of the Austin-based Texas Academy of Family Physicians. "There's no question about that."</p><p>Although telemedicine is useful in many instances, it doesn't address every problem caused by the pandemic. Banning estimates that patient volume has rebounded to about 85% of pre-pandemic levels, but that still leaves a 15% gap, which he attributed in part to patients losing their jobs—and with them their health insurance.</p><p>"I think telemedicine is just going to be one bullet in the gun," he said of the challenges facing doctors today. </p><p>Another reason for the drop in patient volume may be the success of COVID prevention measures.</p><p>"This time of year we're typically slammed," said Dr. Brian Temple, a co-owner and partner at Beansprout Pediatrics, which has locations in Bee Cave, Dripping Springs and Spicewood.</p><p>With kids wearing masks and social distancing, however, the common flu and cold cases are much less common. </p><p>Still, telemedicine is a useful tool for Temple's practice, especially for screening patients with COVID symptoms without having to bring them into the office, where they might infect staff. </p><p>With cases surging, this is a critical safeguard. </p><p>"If we didn't have that, I don't know what we would do," he said. </p>From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less