Has anyone here has used or uses telehealth?
Lately, have been receiving a lot of press releases on that topic and makes me wonder how many people do use it.
I have not used it in the context of diabetes, although I used telehealth services (or something similar) decades ago when traveling overseas. I consulted with my GP and specialists from the US when studying in the UK and traveling in Europe. It didn’t cost much at the time (think it was $5.00 a session, or something, not including cost of calling from Europe, which was considerable). No video at that point, of course.
It was good then for keeping up with maintenance level check-ins/ups for chronic disease (I had a series of really nasty lung, diaphragm, and chest-wall infections in the 90s and 00s). And I think, in that context, it would be very useful for diabetes.
I live more than two hour drive from the closest endocrinologist in my state, and frankly that endo is ridiculously incompetent. I live more than 8 hour drive (and comparable flight) from the only in-state clinic with multiple, reputable endos. I could fly to Seattle, and my local doctors have suggested that, but it seems rather difficult and expensive. So, telehealth (after an initial consultation) would make a ton of sense. An endo doesn’t need to check my lymph nodes or use a tongue depressor, rather they need to digest information from blood tests, physical exams, and meter data combined with my own “living context” of day-to-day management decisions. There is no reason all of that can’t be done remotely with video-conferencing.
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With my PCP, yes, a couple of times in the last 18 months or so. Probably another session coming up soon because BP issues, yuck.
Sorry to hear about your BP issues, do you feel the consult goes as it will at the clinic or more impersonal?
There’s nothing particularly special that happens at the clinic that I can’t do at home, i.e., take my own BP and report it. Basically it’s just a face-time call. I do find it a little easier to discuss matters in a “face-to-face” situation, but it doesn’t make much difference to me if that’s mediated by a computer screen.
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