3 Benefits Of In-Person Doctor's Office Visits When Compared To Telehealth Visits
The number of telehealth visits performed by physicians skyrocketed to over one billion in the year 2020 as more physicians provided these services to help limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus inside of their offices.
While telehealth services do offer many benefits and are a great option when in-person doctor's office visits are not possible, every American should still visit their primary care physician in person on a regular basis in an effort to stay in good health.
Read on to learn about three benefits of in-person doctor's office visits that simply cannot be obtained with telehealth visits.
1. Your Physician Can Record Important Vital Signs
When you visit your primary care provider in person, they can record important vital signs that are impossible to record during telehealth visits performed over the phone or computer. In person, your physician can check your heart rate to determine if you may potentially be developing any heart problems that come with little to no obvious symptoms and provide a blood pressure test to catch the development of hypertension at its early stages before it wreaks havoc on your health.
A primary care physician also typically records patient weight during visits to determine if a patient is at risk of becoming obese, so they can recommend healthier eating habits, if needed, to prevent the health problems that obesity can cause.
2. More Prescription Medication Options
While a physician can prescribe many types of prescription medications after a telehealth medical evaluation alone, the drugs a physician can prescribe after these visits vary from state to state.
For example, some states do not allow physicians to prescribe some medications, such as controlled substances, after telehealth visits unless the physician has already established a doctor-patient relationship with the patient in person.
For this reason, you should always check your state's telehealth prescription laws before visiting a new physician to determine if you must visit the physician in person at least once before they can prescribe a medication you need or suspect you need to control a health problem.
3. Illness Symptoms Cannot Be Masked By Low-Resolution Cameras
When visiting a physician in person, they can examine you carefully to check for the signs of many types of illness. For example, your physician can thoroughly check your throat for the signs of bacterial infection and even examine your eyelids, gums, and skin for visual signs of iron deficiency anemia.
Unfortunately, how accurately your physician can examine you for the physical signs of illness during a telehealth visit is limited by the quality of your cell phone camera or computer webcam. If these devices do not produce high-quality video for your physician, then they may miss some illness signs they may have otherwise noticed during a typical doctor's office visit.
While telehealth doctor's office visits have their benefits, you should still visit your primary care provider in person on a regular basis to obtain these three benefits of doctor's office visits and more.
Contact a doctor's office in your area for more information.
