I hope everyone has been as safe and healthy as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic!
During the early days of the pandemic, I saw most patients by telemedicine in the form of a video visit. I did see quite a few pheo patients by telemedicine as well. My experience with telemedicine for pheo patients and my interaction with readers on this blog convince me that pheo is the model disease for telemedicine.
As physical examination, a key part of patient visit, rarely contributes to the diagnosis and treatment of pheo, telemedicine for pheo does not lose much compared with traditional patient visit. History taking and review of laboratory test results and imaging studies are the same in telemedicine and in traditional patient visit. The time and cost saved by telemedicine on the patient’s part can be tremendous. With telemedicine, a patient can access a pheo expert much more easily even if the expert is in another city.
Of course, nothing can replace the personal touch, the body language, and the many subtle details during an in-person visit. For the purpose of pheo diagnosis and treatment, however, the convenience of telemedicine offsets its shortcomings. Many of my colleagues feel that telemedicine will be here to stay as an important alternative to in-person visit. For patients with suspected or known pheo, telemedicine will continue allowing them to access pheo experts not locally available.
Dr. Pheo
