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Telemedicine

The Human Touch

+Staff Training

Presenting staff must be comfortable with equipment

Presenting staff should feel comfortable with receiving physician

Presenting staff should have all equipment functioning and ready to go prior to the appointment

Presenting staff should have all documentation at hand

+Patient Training

Ask patient and anyone who will be involved in the appointment to come to the appointment 15 minutes before physician appointment

Patient and family should be introduced to the equipment

Patient and family should have a chance to ask questions prior to the physician coming online

Pre-seat the participating people in the appointment and make sure camera can reach all parties

+What staff should consider prior to the appointment

The presenting staff member should be as informed as possible about the patient. A patient interview is helpful prior to the scheduled appointment.

Staff should work diligently to gather any pertinent materials prior to the appointment (examples: progress updates from teachers, lab results, testing results, etc.)

+Patient Comfort

General good bedside manner is crucial! The patient may already feel intimidated by the telemedicine encounter. Presenting site and receiving site should work hard to achieve this goal.

Allow the patient to feel in control of the appointment. Presenting staff should participate in the appointment but not dominate the appointment.

Have pen and paper available for any notes that the patient may need to take. Staff should also notate anything of significance during the appointment.

Patient should leave with a “to do list” and a follow-up appointment