One physician's perspective on why patients prefer telehealth visits

An occupational medicine physician offered his patients a poll with a single question. Here's what he's learned so far about their feelings on virtual care.

Sometime in 2019, I was multi-tasking and racing between exam rooms amid a controlled chaos that defines an average day in my busy clinic.

• Each result was from a unique individual.
• Here are some comments from my patients: "I like the first visit to be in-person but follow up visits can be virtual."
• Finally, make plans to have in-person visits intermittently for the virtual patients, and remember, follow-ups and patients with chronic conditions are the best candidates for telehealth visits.
• According to one survey, nine in 10 Americans stated that they would cancel or reschedule a preventative care appointment due to workplace pressures.6 Less transit to and from the doctor's clinic reduces traffic congestion, traffic accidents and air pollution.
• We must learn to adopt and use it to our advantage instead of as a perceived hindrance.