What Telehealth Can Do—and When an In-Person Exam Still Matters

Telehealth has become a normal part of healthcare, but convenience can make it easy to overstate what a video or phone visit can safely accomplish.

Where telehealth works well

Telehealth can be useful for selected follow-up visits, medication discussions, review of results, counseling, straightforward history-based concerns, and deciding what level of care is needed next.

What a screen cannot replace

A virtual visit cannot reproduce every part of a physical examination. It may not be enough when the diagnosis depends on palpation, neurologic testing, vital signs, a detailed skin or wound assessment, point-of-care testing, imaging, or another hands-on evaluation.

Triage is sometimes the most valuable outcome

A successful telehealth visit does not always end with a diagnosis or prescription. Sometimes the most useful result is recognizing that the patient needs an in-person visit, urgent care, emergency evaluation, or a different type of clinician.

Location matters

Telehealth rules depend on where the patient is physically located and on the clinician’s licensure and applicable law. A practice should not assume that a clinician can simply prescribe or provide care in every state because the technology works there.

The practical takeaway

Telehealth is a tool, not a substitute for every form of care. Used well, it can improve access and help patients reach the right next step faster.

— Nora Phillips, DNP, APRN Central Health | Wahiawa, Hawaiʻi

Sources

HHS Telehealth — Licensing Across State Lines https://telehealth.hhs.gov/licensure/licensing-across-state-lines