Telehealth from an Orthopaedic Surgeon’s Point of View

Posted by Orthopaedic Specialists

10 Things We Have Learned While Providing Telehealth Appointments

telehealth

1. Patients are so thankful that we are providing a way from them to have their orthopedic issues addressed.

2. We have been graciously invited into their homes via FaceTime or other conference platforms.

3. You can actually do a lot of an orthopedic exam without ever putting your hands on a patient. You have to be clever about helping the patient do the exam with you. For example: the patients palpate specific areas on their knee where you would normally palpate to look for a specific pathology.

4. Most patients no matter their age are pretty handy with FaceTime.

5. We’ve been able to review patients’ x-rays from various sources by them allowing us to look at their films from their phone or computer.

6. Patients have allowed us to streamline this process, when they call to make an appointment we are gathering key data and giving them information on how to set up their phones, iPads, or laptops for the telehealth visit.

7. Not everybody knows where the volume button is located on their smart device.

8. We are learning the names and even getting to visit with some of their pets.

9. Sometimes patients forget that we will need to examine the body part that is below the web cam level. There’s been a couple times when we had to go off camera so they could get appropriately dressed.

10. The bottom line is patients are extremely appreciative of this service in these unprecedented times.

Dr. Stacie Grossfeld is now providing virtual orthopedic and sports medicine consults to patients who don’t wish to make the trip into the office. Most types of insurance are accepted and set up is easy with the use of Zoom Video Conferencing and a smart device. To schedule an appointment, call our office at 502-212-2663!