Telehealth: A tool in the fight against Covid-19

Like or not, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world. It is very easy to have a bleak outlook on the future in the moment, however, in a bid to stay positive I have been thinking about the positives that can come about from this dark time. A comparison can be made to the Titanic, the unsinkable ship that sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in 1912, which sadly took the lives of over 1500 passengers. However, many safety practices where changed because of this tragedy such as; lifeboats for every passenger onboard, lifeboat drills were implemented, regular lifeboat inspections, 24-hour radio watch, distress red rockets, international ice patrol (to patrol for icebergs, the bulkheads on ships were extended to make the compartments fully watertight. These safety changes have undoubtedly saved countless lives at sea since 1912. It is up to us to do the same with the current pandemic. People are being forced to come up with new ways to provide education (schools, colleges, universities, businesses etc.), conduct work from home (corporations, Non-profits organisations, small businesses etc.), and provide services (home doctor visits, home delivery of goods, and Telehealth etc.).

As a practicing chiropractor I have jumped on the Telehealth bandwagon, not because I have to but because I want to. If you are unfamiliar with the term Telehealth, it is a way that professional health workers can provide services from a remote location via a video appointment. It is super easy these days because all you need as a patient is a video camera, a microphone, and the internet. Practically everyone has all of these in their desktop or laptop computers nowadays. However, if you don’t have a computer, chances are you have another device with all these features, and it sits in the palm of your hand, that’s right your smart phone.

I conducted my very first Telehealth appointment last week with one of my former patients that had moved from Australia to California. I simply booked her in for an appointment like I would with any of my other patients a few days before the appointment. On the day of the appointment, I sent a link to her email, which she just clicked on and the video link was established. She explained to me that she was getting some neck pain for the past 2 weeks. She went on to give me specific details about her pain, how bad it hurt from 0-10, where it hurt, how long the pain lasted, what made the pain worse, and what made it better, as well as a few other questions. Based on this information, I asked her to perform certain neck movements, thoracic spine movements, and shoulder movements. I also asked her to push on certain spots on her neck and rate the pain from 0-10. Based on this information, I was able to come up with a diagnosis for her neck problem. I told her what the diagnosis was, told her what movements and activities to avoid, and showed her some movements and exercises that would help her. Lastly, I gave her some advice on a few simple things she could use to give her some immediate relief, such as use of a wheat bag, and using some magnesium cream to help her neck muscles relax a bit. The only difference between the consultation and my normal in clinic consultation was the manual therapy. Interesting fact, I did a webinar last week that had a very experienced Telehealth physiotherapist, she stated that a recent peer reviewed study had shown same if not better patient outcomes when comparing Telehealth to in clinic consultation with physiotherapists. This bodes very well for Telehealth and got me very interested in the service.

An hour after the consult I emailed the patient a detailed report of findings which included her diagnosis, prognosis, a list of possible causes of her condition, movements and activities to avoid, movements and positions for relief, prescribed exercises, and prescribed supplements. I sent a second email that had a link to an online app called PhysiTrack. Using the app, I had designed a bespoke exercise program for her, which includes videos with audio and written description of how to perform each individual exercise, reps, sets and how often to perform the exercises. The app even lets me track each patients progress, so yes, I will be like Santa Claus and be aware if you’re being naughty or nice. A few days after the online consultation, I contacted the patient, and she was happy to report her neck pain had improved and she had been doing her prescribed exercises daily.

It is an amazing technological time, and we need to take full advantage of the technologies at our disposal. If you are forced into a mandatory government lockdown, or you are unable to leave the house for any reason, I urge you to consider a Telehealth consultation either with myself or another reputable health professional. This is a much better option than taking your chances with Doctor Google or watching random online videos which can be dangerous and potentially exacerbate your condition. If you have any questions or comments regarding any of this please feel free to contact me and I will happily get back to you as soon as possible.

Take care and stay safe!

All information contained herein is specific to the patient that was assessed and diagnosed and should not be taken as general advice. If you have a musculoskeletal complaint, please consult a medical or allied health professional.