Delivering Personalized Care at a Distance: How Telemedicine Can Foster Getting to Know the Patient as a Person

Abstract

The promise of precision medicine is based on the use of new technologies to better characterize patients by defining individuals in the areas of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and other aspects of biologic variability. Wise application of modern technology can similarly transform health visits with patients, allowing for better characterization of the patient’s individual life circumstances than possible in a traditional office visit. The use of, and experience with, telemedicine have increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and clinicians report high satisfaction with telemedicine, and the quality of communication and patient-centeredness experienced in this setting are both rated highly. In this article, we explore the benefits offered by telemedicine in facilitating personalized care with particular focus on telemedicine delivered by video platforms. We propose strategies and skills specific to the effective implementation of personalized telemedicine, drawing on literature in patient-centered communication and home visits. While traditional in-person office visits continue to offer important opportunities such as thorough physical examination and the potential for enhanced non-verbal communication, telemedicine offers many important advantages that can facilitate the process of getting to know the patient as a person.

Keywords

• telemedicine
• person-centered care
• communication
• humanism