…Or not.
Local boy, Jared Sheehan, having made good (more or less–he’s the chief innovation officer at a company called Quick MD and co-founded various technology-driven companies supporting various social impact industries) returned to his old “stomping grounds”, so-to-speak, to communicate the latest thinking in and about medicine online at the Garrettsville branch of the Portage County District Library on the topic of telemedicine, an up-and-coming field promising to positively change how health care is delivered. The promises include greater access to (nonlocal) physicians, including specialists and subspecialists, more flexibility in scheduling virtual visits, reduced need to commute to appointments, prevention of exposure to infectious diseases, lower costs, shorter wait times for appointments, ability to better monitor individual health.
The book, Skip the Waiting Room will be available in the Library or online for anyone wishing to check this out. Its subtitle is : How Telehealth Will Transform Medicine for Patients and Doctors, which could be the theme and the hope of the medical industry, from caregivers to insurance providers…and patients, of course. Starting with a brief history of medicine, continuing through current, frequently unsatisfactory healthcare circumstances, giving an outlook for today and tomorrow, the book offers case studies, expert views, thoughts on change and progress for the reader to consider.
Is telemedicine for everyone? Right now? For “whatever ails you”? Not necessarily, but this book does give food for thought and indications of what may be in the offing for anyone concerned about the status of their own healthcare situation. Telemedicine may not be for everyone (I have not put my pinky-toes in that particular pool just yet, but I am thinking about it.), but it may be the best thing going as far as access to care, approach to the shortage of healthcare professionals and/or home health, wearable devices and a whole spectrum of choices that will be made–come what may. And will it be a wellness boon for the population at-large?
Take a look and call in the morning.
Check for the book online–of course– or at the library
