Why you need to use teleconsultation? Discover Teleconsultation in general medicine

Why you need to use teleconsultation? The reason to use it is what?Sandrine D. is a general practitioner, installed for years in a sensitive suburb. She made the choice to embark on teleconsultation out of curiosity, quite naturally. After hearing about it a few times in the press, she quickly found out to choose a platform, and got started.

Why offer teleconsultation to its patients?

Like many doctors, Sandrine already answered or called back her patients by phone. “I was already doing a lot of teleconferencing with my patients actually. So it was only natural that I offered them this new form of follow-up.”

How to offer the first teleconsultation to its patients?

“In a very natural way and without headache“. Sandrine began by offering teleconsultation to her patients for specific cases, in particular for returns of blood balance. As she uses it, she discovers new cases where teleconsultation is suitable and never hesitates to schedule appointments for her patients, who have welcomed the practice very well.

How to organize to integrate teleconsultation into your days?

Sandrine consults at her office essentially without an appointment, so she doesn’t really have a dedicated teleconsultation time slot “but it’s really not a brake“.She can offer a teleconsultation in the next quarter of an hour to a patient who calls her during the day when she is not available. It depends of course on the reason for this call. It simply determines whether the physical presence of the patient is necessary or not before scheduling the appointment.

For the appointments that she schedules in advance with her patients, this doctor admits having a preference for “lunch break or at the end of the day“. A teleconsultation is often much faster than a consultation at the doctor’s office, this is not disturbing, quite the contrary!

In the future, and as the number of teleconsultations she practices increases, Sandrine plans to dedicate 2 or 3 periods of her weekly schedule to teleconsultation, and to schedules that suit her best.

When to use teleconsultation rather than a consultation in a practice?

The teleconsultation use cases are numerous, but it is by practicing it that everyone will find the cases most suited to their patient base. As a general practitioner, Sandrine consults in teleconsultation for very specific cases. For the moment, this is more a matter of surveillance than of pathology and pure care.

Return of blood balance.

“This is the ideal case for teleconsultation“. Concretely, “most of the time, i order a blood Review, i expect there is nothing special and a second physical exam is not necessary. I then immediately set up a teleconsultation appointment so that the patients do not waste time coming back and waiting“.

So, as soon as the patient has obtained his results, he can review his doctor on ehealth and browse the results with him. This reassures him immediately, especially if one or two values ​​are a little different from the recommended standard.

Post-operative follow-up

This is not the most common case, but one of the most suitable. It depends of course on the type of operation. Sandrine gives us the recent example of appendicitis in a child. “The parents appreciated not having to take the child out. The ehealth (from a teleconsultation platform), with a good network, is enough to see the scar well“. A good complementary interrogation makes it possible to make sure that all is indeed well.

Psychological support.

Sandrine explains to us that she has a lot of “sensitive” or psychologically fragile patients. Offering them teleconsultation was his best idea. She can follow them more regularly, this creates a real bond of proximity. She also makes herself more available to listen to them more carefully in these cases by carrying out these consultations from her health home, in a calm environment.

Why use teleconsultation? What do you like about this practice?

Sandrine is full of praise for teleconsultation.

“It’s a great tool! “

“It’s nice ! ”, Come to him spontaneously during the conversation. But very concretely here is what teleconsultation has as an advantage in his practice of medicine.

Legal framework

“I already practiced a lot of telecontrol, follow-up by phone. Using a teleconsultation platform for this monitoring has given me a legal framework“. Indeed everything is noted in the teleconsultation report, which is mandatory on a teleconsultation platform (and which is not the case via WhatsApp or Skype for example). Mandatory security of patient health data is also an important legal point that a teleconsultation solution offers.

A better tool than the phone

For this doctor the ehealth creates a “proximity and quality link“. “It’s nicer than the phone!“. On the patient’s side, the patient is more confident.

“It’s super reliable!“

“The patient and the doctor are reassured because they have seen each other, and there is a real time saving for all“.For the most fragile patients for whom she provides psychological monitoring, this is all the more important: “we care about them more than just a phone call“.

Better monitoring and a close link

For the psychological follow-up of his anxious or depressed patients, the use of teleconsultation allows him to maintain a more regular link. As the trip is not necessary, the doctor will be able to keep a more frequent link. The patient also feels that his doctor is more available, more attentive than in the office, “where the phone rings and the queue goes to the waiting room“. He can thus talk to his doctor visually more often, without moving.

The ehealth is also very important for the psychological follow-up in the sense that it makes it possible to see clearly if the patient is ill. “The phone is good, but seeing people you can still see more things”. Like for example a sad look in a patient who says he is fine, or being still in his pajamas, not wearing his hair, not washing, in the middle of the afternoon. “There are unmistakable signs”, And the ehealth consultation makes it possible to detect these signs.Finally, the advantage for the doctor is that this quality link “does not come at the expense of (one’s) own comfort, on the contrary“.

A more flexible organization

In terms of organization, the use of teleconsultation allows Sandrine to have a much more flexible timetable. “I save time in the office by setting these appointments at times when I am no longer available”, Such as during his lunch break, or in the evening.For evening consultations, she simply teleworks, which makes it easier for her to reconcile her personal and professional life.A teleconsultation can be scheduled at the end of the day to correspond to the patient’s schedules “and it doesn’t matter, because we’re at health home.”Doctors have the flexibility to return health home less late to take advantage of their families. They will only have to isolate themselves 10 minutes at most to carry out the teleconsultation. Then everyone is free to impose their own limits.

Time saving

Teleconsultation appointments tend to be quicker than in office. Ten minutes less on five consultations in a day and it’s an hour saved. A dozen consultations a week can make a real difference in the daily life of an often busy doctor.

Render service

Patient schedules do not necessarily correspond to physician schedules. They work during the day and cannot always come to consult easily. Open slots in the evening “it’s also doing them a favor”, Making access to care easier.

Why did you choose Hellocare?

Sandrine has chosen Hellocare because it is “a small French box! The big behemoths I don’t really like“. The accessibility of the interlocutors and the human side of the relationship were decisive.

In addition, Hellocare does not force doctors to bill patients directly, which is not the case with all teleconsultation platforms. “I practice full third-party payment, so it’s a real advantage for my business“. She also did not want her patients to be able to book an appointment on their own, which is indeed optional on the Hellocare platform.

What do you think are the obstacles to teleconsultation?

A common effort is necessary

For Sandrine, “reluctance does not necessarily come from doctors“. Indeed, although registered for more than a year on Hellocare, she could not make teleconsultations immediately because of her business software which did not integrate the key letter TCG to invoice them. “It was not their priority“.

The same goes for some pharmacies that do not accept paper prescriptions, while this poses no concern for all others. “You know, sometimes I have pharmacies that refuse the prescription that I printed myself, thinking it is a copy“. The effort must be common and collective to develop teleconsultation, this is the whole point of supporting the digital health shift of the Ma health 2022 plan!

The question of physical examination

Sandrine thinks that it will take time for some of her older colleagues, for those who are not used to digital technology or, finally, those who are most settled in a very experienced practice.“General practitioners are often reluctant about the fact that the physical examination does not exist“. But teleconsultation can be used in many cases which do not require this examination. It is not intended to replace the entire practice in the office, but only in cases of appropriate use. As a training supervisor, she notes that “young interns immediately see the interest”!

“As always when we have to change our ways of doing it seems complicated, however with a minimum of practice it comes quite naturally“. Much like when the Carte Vitale came into effect, practitioners and all stakeholders must all make the effort to try. Thus they will realize that it is ultimately very simple and as effective as a consultation in office. “Over time it should really develop. I believe it ” she ends!

These books can help you to know more and master teleconsultation 

[content-egg module=Amazon template=custom/bigcart]

[content-egg module=Walmart template=custom/bigcart]

Improve your health with innovative ehealth treatment -A Smart Method of AB Smart Health