How telemedicine works for you and me

By: Anthony Pangilinan

So, we are all stuck at home due to locked in rules and my sons are experiencing terrible allergies. Just about the same time, my batchmate and PMA QC head Dr. Michael de Guzman sends me a message that he is offering both in-clinic and online consultation.

My boys reluctantly agree to an online “telemedicine” consultation session…and after it is done…Boom! They are completely floored…in amazement!

“Dad, we’ve been taking the wrong meds all this time!” “He explained it so clearly!” “He’s really good.”

And the usual realization: “we should have tried this a long time ago!”

Well, circumstances have a way of forcing us to fast-track progress out of need. Not a few are saying that their 3 year plans all happened within 3 months, due to the pandemic. And now it has impacted all sectors of society.

Telemedicine? It’s tele-ALL. Medicine. Banking. Selling. Performing. Studying. Training. In some cases, even parenting…

How can we make this work? For those who haven’t tried tele-consulting, here are some guidelines, based on our own experience. For those who have tried it, perhaps a few ideas to make it even more worthwhile.

1. Try the app. Explore it. Ask your child to help you with it!
2. Explain your condition clearly, be ready to tell your story
3. List down your questions, your “to Ask” List
4. Enter the e-consultation as you would a normal clinic. Be appropriately dressed. Greet the person you are meeting. Focus on the appointment (alalay sa sinasaing)
5. Make your physical environment and your virtual connection as conducive and as clear as possible (Request others not to stream at same time, if workable)
6. Except when encouraged by the doctor and you find it helpful, keep consultation focused on the condition at hand (wag naman lahat ng sakit, pati imagined, pati yung sa asawa at tatlo mong anak)
7. Document the call, write down key observations and recommendations (Request for their documentation through email, too!)
8. Interact with your doctor; do not allow it to be a one-way communication session.
9. Clarify confidentiality, check audio-video recording, know your rights online.
10. Initiate feedback to your provider, if you feel that is more appropriate than to the doctor himself or herself…We are all learning and feedback helps with positive change!
11. Nurture your relationship with the Doctor, and his or her staff; it may be a long term partnership and you want it positive!
12. Engage fully and make the most of your time and energy!

Let’s make T.E.L.E.M.E.D.I.C.I.N.E. work for you and me!

And MediCard has that service for its members. Just download the MediCard MACE App on Google Play and App Store, and join the many who have found an easier, more convenient but equally effective way to better health, and well-being.

From phones to cars to medicine, technology touches every part of our lives. If you can create technology, you can change the world. – Susan Wojcicki