Telemedicine Starts with the Doctor's Voice

"It's wonderful really to say okay, how can I help you today, and they just start right in, and you're listening and focusing on everything that they're saying. You're not sitting there worried about some other doctor calling you on the phone, or another patient problem that comes in. It's just wonderful."

As we continue to deal with the exodus of primary care doctors, and the financial pressures on healthcare, I am convinced more than ever since talking to Gordon, that many of the simple uses to which technology is being put are making a material difference in the actual delivery of care.

Some of Gordon's observations are bound to be challenged.

I've known many nurses who can think out of the box just fine, for example. But we cannot ignore Gordon's experience, and the services putting him in touch with 500 patients in just the past year simply by picking up a telephone. While we look forward to the immersive telemedicine experience the future will make possible, let's not forget that.