Drawbacks
Despite the many benefits of virtual care, clinical circumstances may arise when webside manner insufficiently meets the needs of patients. Certain encounters may require a physical rather than a virtual exam, as when evaluating for signs of subtle synovitis. Some patients may be uncomfortable with the technology of real-time video visits, preventing them from interacting with their practitioners in an effective, therapeutic manner.
Conversations associated with high emotion, such as the delivery of bad news or discussions of care goals, may be best conducted in person, where empathy can be conveyed with such actions as offering a patient tissues or a reassuring touch of the hand and where clinic staff are readily available to provide support. As these examples demonstrate, identifying patients and encounters best suited for in-person vs. virtual care is requisite for the effective and safe practice of virtual medicine.
Educational Use
Virtual care can enrich medical training and prepare learners to deliver care across diverse settings. It allows trainees to develop their webside manner and virtual care skills, competencies requisite in their future practice of medicine in the virtual environment. Preceptors may also use some of the functionalities within teleconferencing platforms, such as the option to pause video and audio input, to support the educational techniques of direct observation of elements of the history and exam.
In addition, the virtual environment lends itself to webside presentations, where the learner shares the clinical history with the faculty preceptor in the presence of the patient. This style of presentation has been shown to improve teaching efficiency, as well as patient satisfaction.8 These techniques allow educators to more efficiently teach learners and optimize trainee assessment while enhancing the experience of patients, learners and preceptors. Virtual care supports clinical training and equips future practitioners with the skills needed to care for patients in the evolving clinical landscape.
In Sum
Virtual care, specifically the use of real-time video visits, can lead clinicians back to the bedside or rather back to the webside. As during in-person care, practitioners can convey empathy, build therapeutic and educational relationships with patients, and find meaning in their work in the virtual environment.
The technology of virtual medicine integrates many aspects of patient care, fostering an approach for patients and providers to interact with each other while facilitating clinical training.
Patients appreciate the care and communication extended to them in the virtual environment, as well as the opportunity to contribute to trainees’ learning.
With these benefits, providers, trainees and patients should recognize virtual care as a tool that enriches medical education, improves satisfaction and supports patient care in the clinical environment.
