First Telemedicine Appointment
Jan. 12th, 2022 06:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerToday I had my first telemedicine appointment. I.e., I saw my doctor via videoconference.
On the one hand it's amusing this "first" didn't come until 2022. In graduate school nearly 30 years ago I worked and did research in the area of virtual reality, augmented reality, and telepresence. Telemedicine, defined as connecting patients and GPs to medical specialists across great distance, was one of the applications we talked about. The thing was, nearly 30 years ago the infrastructure to do it was expensive. Only the best funded institutions had the kind of Internet connections fast enough to support it, and the computers that could capture, transmit, and receive real-time video generally cost $6,000+. Imagine them being triple that today with inflation. Of course, now you can do it with a $200 phone and garden-variety wifi or cell service.
With this history of being on the cutting edge of technology development you'd think I'd have been an early adopter as it hit the mainstream. I've been doing videoconferencing for my job for several years; well before the pandemic made it a fact of life for most people for work, school, and even visiting friends and relatives.
While I'm thoroughly comfortable with using video conferencing tools I've resisted using them with my doctors. That's because they use only a proprietary smartphone app that I have a low opinion of in general. If they would send me a Zoom or Meet or Teams link, I'd be fine. But not using some one-off app. I've used a few of those at other times over the past 2 years, and they've all sucked.
For today's appointment I didn't have any alternative. Where I've been going to see doctors for the last several years, the whole medical practice is shut. Evidently there's Covid going around their office, though they won't admit it. The doctor I saw today didn't deny that though she pointed out that her multi-week stint of remote work is due to a sports injury. (And she's a sports medicine doctor. Hmm.... 😅)
Anyway, I was cautious about using video conferencing inside this proprietary app. Once I was able to enter the meeting room I saw a "Powered by ZOOM technology" banner appear in the corner. That gave me more confidence. And the meeting went well. The doctor had a good setup for videoconferencing on her end; clearly she's familiar with the art and/or has had a professional work with her on the setup. She had a good camera position, good lighting, and a pleasant yet not distracting background. The only thing off was that her cat photobombed her by jumping up on her keyboard halfway through our chat.
Would I do a telemedicine appointment again? Absolutely. Especially with this doctor. She uses the technology well, and meeting online saves time of schlepping to the clinic and avoids the concerns about catching whatever the ill people in the waiting room may have.
There's a limit, though, to telemedicine. At some point they've got to take a blood sample, or even just check my blood pressure. (I've tried home blood pressure kits. They suck.) I'll have to go into the office for those things.
On the one hand it's amusing this "first" didn't come until 2022. In graduate school nearly 30 years ago I worked and did research in the area of virtual reality, augmented reality, and telepresence. Telemedicine, defined as connecting patients and GPs to medical specialists across great distance, was one of the applications we talked about. The thing was, nearly 30 years ago the infrastructure to do it was expensive. Only the best funded institutions had the kind of Internet connections fast enough to support it, and the computers that could capture, transmit, and receive real-time video generally cost $6,000+. Imagine them being triple that today with inflation. Of course, now you can do it with a $200 phone and garden-variety wifi or cell service.
With this history of being on the cutting edge of technology development you'd think I'd have been an early adopter as it hit the mainstream. I've been doing videoconferencing for my job for several years; well before the pandemic made it a fact of life for most people for work, school, and even visiting friends and relatives.
While I'm thoroughly comfortable with using video conferencing tools I've resisted using them with my doctors. That's because they use only a proprietary smartphone app that I have a low opinion of in general. If they would send me a Zoom or Meet or Teams link, I'd be fine. But not using some one-off app. I've used a few of those at other times over the past 2 years, and they've all sucked.
For today's appointment I didn't have any alternative. Where I've been going to see doctors for the last several years, the whole medical practice is shut. Evidently there's Covid going around their office, though they won't admit it. The doctor I saw today didn't deny that though she pointed out that her multi-week stint of remote work is due to a sports injury. (And she's a sports medicine doctor. Hmm.... 😅)
Anyway, I was cautious about using video conferencing inside this proprietary app. Once I was able to enter the meeting room I saw a "Powered by ZOOM technology" banner appear in the corner. That gave me more confidence. And the meeting went well. The doctor had a good setup for videoconferencing on her end; clearly she's familiar with the art and/or has had a professional work with her on the setup. She had a good camera position, good lighting, and a pleasant yet not distracting background. The only thing off was that her cat photobombed her by jumping up on her keyboard halfway through our chat.
Would I do a telemedicine appointment again? Absolutely. Especially with this doctor. She uses the technology well, and meeting online saves time of schlepping to the clinic and avoids the concerns about catching whatever the ill people in the waiting room may have.
There's a limit, though, to telemedicine. At some point they've got to take a blood sample, or even just check my blood pressure. (I've tried home blood pressure kits. They suck.) I'll have to go into the office for those things.
