Doctors discover telehealth’s silver lining in the Covid-19 crisis

Before the Covid-19 crisis, I — like most physicians — thought that in person, face-to-face encounters afforded me the greatest level of connection and intimacy with my patients. Yet many of us have been pleasantly surprised to discover the perks of telehealth during the unprecedented coronavirus crisis.

Centuries of doctor-patient relations have centered on in-person communication and physical examination. We have been conditioned to view that as the norm, causing us to see telehealth as disembodied and impersonal, making us reluctant to embrace it.

Then came the Covid-19 ambush. With mandated social distancing policies in place to counter the rapid spread of a highly infective virus, health care providers have been forced into an overnight arranged marriage with telemedicine. For some of us, there is the potential for true love.

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