Adequate care is when a physician sees someone for a cough, correctly diagnoses bronchitis, and then (usually) doesn’t prescribe antibiotics.
Great care is when a physician sees someone for a cough, correctly diagnoses bronchitis, doesn’t prescribe an antibiotic, and then, incidentally, glances at their patient’s forearm, notices an abnormal mole, and refers them to a dermatologist, catching an aggressive melanoma early!
With diligence, telemedicine can provide adequate care.
But telemedicine is unlikely to consistently provide great care—the type of care that goes above and beyond the average, the normal, the adequate.
So, this is THE telemedicine question for patients, physicians, and healthcare executives:
Is adequate care good enough?