DR AMY NGUYEN Research Fellow, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University
PROFESSOR JOHN CARTMILL Associate Dean Clinical, Department of Clinical Medicine, Macquarie University
Amid the rush to telehealth, let’s ensure we address these cautions and questions
DR SARAH WHITE Senior Lecturer, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Macquarie University
One hundred years ago the Russian literary theorist Victor Shklovsky pointed out that ‘strangeness’ could make a routine experience fresh again. In this way, telehealth, which includes telemedicine, is strange for many of us, and that ‘structural challenge’ invites and facilitates reflection on what we might otherwise take for granted in medical consultations: equity, effectiveness, health literacy, safety, quality, risk, privacy, even the fundamental nature and purpose of communication in consultations. It is worth addressing some of the strengths and weaknesses of telehealth — particularly with regard to an initial consultation—while its use is novel (note, the authors acknowledge that telemedicine is not new and that there are many experts in the field). >
The Health Advocate • AUGUST 2020
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