I was challenged by the medical establishment for using telehealth about 5 years ago.

I had partnered with pharmacies in remote communities to provide advice about travel medications.

A doctor in the community complained about my use of telehealth. He did not like the competition in travel health services.

This lead to a formal investigation by the authorities for using telehealth technology partnering with pharmacists.

So the irony today is that with COVID most interactions with doctors are virtual using telehealth.

Telehealth companies are dominating healthcare delivery nationally and internationally.

This is easier for the patient and for the doctors. It is cost effective. It is safer. It is based on the patient’s needs and not the doctor’s availability. When a call is booked, the patient does not have to wait for 2 hours in the waiting room with other patients coughing on them.

It will be impossible to return to the old model of face to face checkups.

So COVID has the unexpected benefit of accelerating innovation in care delivery to benefit the patients.

Raymond Rupert patient advocate & healthcare consultant.

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