Kent Manuel, a 72-year-old semiretired accountant from Indianapolis, has been dealing with pain since his cancer diagnosis last year. After spinal surgery, he started seeing a palliative care doctor through telemedicine. Dr. Julia Frydman, based in Manhattan, prescribed medications that helped relieve his pain.
The expansion of Medicare coverage for telemedicine due to the Covid pandemic allowed Mr. Manuel to access care remotely. Congress approved a three-month extension for telemedicine coverage until March 31, giving hope for further renewals. Telemedicine is popular and bipartisan, with an estimated 20 to 30 percent of medical encounters now able to occur virtually.
Despite a decline in telemedicine use since the peak of the pandemic, many patients, like Mr. Manuel, have come to rely on this option for accessing care, especially for services like palliative care that may not be widely available in all areas.
Patients like Jim Seegert and Bruce Lerner have also found telemedicine to be a convenient option for managing their health conditions and accessing care while avoiding unnecessary office visits. Helen Epstein credits telemedicine with sparing her an emergency room trip after a dog bite.
Though questions about cost and effectiveness linger, Dr. Frydman believes that further studies are needed to fully understand the outcomes of telemedicine. Mr. Manuel, a strong advocate for telemedicine, believes in its efficiency and the wider range of professionals he can consult with remotely. He intends to continue using telemedicine whenever possible for his care needs.
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