Tips to Improve Telehealth for Patients and Providers

Widespread of adoption of telehealth had been relatively slow before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, according to one survey of physicians in the US, close to half are treating patients using virtual visits. Some health care providers have found this rapid change overwhelming. Fortunately, some early adopters have years of experience with telehealth and are willing to share what they’ve learned with others.

Andrea Schwartz, MD, MPH, is a geriatrician at the VA Boston and the New England Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center, and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. She has been practicing telemedicine for five years in an interprofessional geriatrics consult clinic, and offers wide-ranging advice for how to improve the telehealth experience for both patients and health care providers.