The Future of Telemedicine: Revolutionizing Health Care or Flash in the Pan?

Abstract

The meteoric rise of telemedicine early in the COVID-19 pandemic might easily be mistaken for an ephemeral trend—one reaching its zenith in a moment of crisis. To the contrary, momentum has been mounting for telehealth over decades. The recent increase in telecare reveals its potential to deliver efficient, patient-centered, high-quality care in an increasingly technology-dependent landscape. Prior to COVID-19, surgeons lagged behind medical counterparts in embracing telemedicine; however, the pragmatic imperatives for remote care of patients and changes to Medicare removed key barriers to adoption. Otolaryngology–head and neck surgery has innovated across subspecialties, leading in COVID-19 scholarship and year-over-year publications on telemedicine. Yet, improved access to subspecialists is tempered by a digital divide that threatens to exacerbate disparities. Otolaryngology is poised to lead the transformation of procedural specialties while ensuring equitable care.

Quality and Safety in the Literature: May 2022

“…As cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) have risen dramatically over the course of the pandemic, global interest in utilisation of telemedicine services has increased 1 2. In an effort to avoid exposure to infected persons in healthcare settings, the total number of virtual health encounters has risen sharply in both primary care and subspecialty clinics 3 4. Even prior to the onset of the pandemic, telemedicine services were used in a myriad of specialties, ranging from cardiothoracic surgery to psychiatry to palliative care as a means of monitoring symptoms and collecting patient data to detect and address early patient deterioration and prevent excess morbidity and mortality 5–7…”

Telemedicine-based new patient consultations for hernia repair and advanced abdominal wall reconstruction

“…Telemedicine utilization has grown significantly over the past decade with an accelerated growth phase during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing patients more options for effective evaluation [ 1 – 3 ]. Advocates of telemedicine highlight its efficiency in evaluation and the ability to improve access to care, expanding provider reach beyond traditional geographic barriers [ 4 ].…”

“…Telemedicine enhances opportunities for patients in rural settings, those with limited ability to travel, or difficulty with scheduling to seek specialty-level care [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]. However, the adoption of telemedicine as a direct alternative to in-person preoperative assessment has been questioned by recent studies demonstrating increased care utilization (e.g., additional short term follow up encounters, additional testing) associated with telemedicine-based care [ 7 ] .For surgeons in particular, the inability to perform a physical exam has discouraged many from utilizing telemedicine for initial consultation.…”

The Future of Immersive Technology in Global Surgery Education

“…Due to this, the government of India has established supportive legislation for patients' digital health data [15] as they will progressively use mobile devices to access healthcare services such as telemedicine. Certainly, 7 surgical specialties (orthopaedics, general surgery, otolaryngology, urology, neurosurgery, thoracic surgery and plastic surgery) had published more than double the number of telemedicine research articles in the first 6 months of 2020 than in all of 2019 [16], indicating revamped interest. Therefore, mobile devices will increase in dominance to be an everyday supplementary resource which runs VR and AR applications.…”