We learned many long-distance lessons during the pandemic. One of the most important involved visiting the doctor. As Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, author of An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back and Editor-in-Chief of Kaiser Health News, tells our Jonathon Swersey in the latest episode of The Resonance Test: “Many of us spend way too much time schlepping into doctors’ offices for things that could be done perfectly well over the phone.”
The pandemic took telemedicine mainstream. Many who previously had only heard of it were forced to experience, practice, and pay for it. The question is: What’s it worth? “Is it 50% of a real, in-person visit? 70%? 100%? Sometimes [it’s] 120%! But I think it really depends on the kind of visit, and how it’s used, and who is creating the telemedicine system.”
Regarding the myriad unresolved details of telemedicine—what works well remotely, what must be done in person, how to value all these different treatment options—Rosenthal says: “We have a lot of sorting out to do.”
Rosenthal is, admittedly, somewhat skeptical about virtual care. “My worry always that it will be sold as useful because it’s commercial, before it’s useful—and that could give the whole field a bad name, frankly.” But whatever happens when the big telemedicine sort finally happens, it must ultimately be about creating balance. People will always need to do some things in a non-virtual way. As Rosenthal reminds us: “You can’t test someone’s reflexes on a screen.”
Host: Alison Kotin
Engineer: Kyp Pilalas
Producer: Ken Gordon
About the Author
- Jonathon Swersey
A highly creative and analytical leader, Jonathon specializes in developing implementable strategies for senior executives.
Previously, Jonathon has worked at Innosight, Dell, and BCG where led teams and partnered with c-level clients to develop their innovation strategies, build their innovation capabilities, and accelerate the development and impact of their new products and services.
Jonathon lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with his wife Julie and daughters Belle (7) and Sadie (4). Outside of work, he raises money to fight childhood cancer by riding the 192 mile Pan Mass Challenge. Jonathon holds an MBA from Yale with concentrations in Strategy and Finance and a B. Sc. in Biology from Binghamton University.
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Ken GordonChief Communications SpecialistKen makes EPAM Continuum’s work visible to the necessary people. He creates superlative content, works with colleagues to do the same, and employs social networks to share it widely.
A card-carrying humanist, Ken co-founded QuickMuse, the improvisational writing website, and JEDLAB, the Jewish education community. He has written for TheAtlantic.com, the New York Times, and many other pubs.
Ken has an English degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MA in English from the State University of New York at Albany. He framed both diplomas long ago, but can’t seem to find them now—a fact he considers all-too-human.
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