Primary care
-
Recent rapid expansion of telemedicine services has included delivery of those services to adolescents and young adults. Telemedicine can be used to provide a wide array of health services to adolescent and young adult (AYA) including the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, gender-affirming services, contraception, acute care, and health education. Special attention to minor consent laws which vary by state and country should help inform the health system and practice decisions for patient portal access, delivery of confidential care, and care for which the consent of a guardian or parent is required. For AYA with limited transportation options or who are geographically distant from specialty care, telemedicine helps expand access to those services.
-
The care of patients with diabetes is complex and longitudinal. Improved management of diabetic risk factors can decrease long-term complications such as cardiovascular disease, renal failure, vision impairment, and amputation. A variety of telehealth options are available which may improve patient access to needed care as well as a provider understanding of the challenges for an individual patient. Health care teams must be thoughtful about how best to incorporate telehealth into the care of patients with diabetes.
-
Urgent care as a distinct clinical care entity began in the 1970s to treat low-acuity conditions. Virtual urgent care (VUC) can be provided by the primary care physician (PCP) or home health system of the patient, and many commercial direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies have emerged to provide this service. ⋯ VUC has been proposed to improve equity and access to care, but early evidence is mixed. New utilization owing to convenience may lead to overall higher health care costs.
-
The article summarizes the current state of hypertension management via telehealth. Included is information about diagnosis and management of hypertension in general, the role of telehealth regarding hypertension management, a description of self-measurement blood pressure monitoring, billing and coding for hypertension management via telehealth, and a discussion of hypertension quality metrics.
-
Telemedicine was underused and understudied until the COVID-19 pandemic, during which reduced regulations and increased payment parity facilitated a rapid increase in telemedicine consultation. Telemedicine literature to date suggests that it holds benefits for patients and health care providers, may result in outcomes not inferior to in-person care, and has cost-saving implications. Future research should investigate which conditions are best suited to assess and treat via telemedicine (including physical exam elements), what techniques improve telemedicine communication, how to help patients equitably access telemedicine, and how to best educate the future health care workforce.