Virtual consultations have become the new norm that seemed to surface as quickly as the pandemic did. Some positives and negatives come with this innovative process, whether they are here to stay or just a feature until it becomes safe to move back to in-person office visits. Our society evolves constantly. When that evolution makes our lives easier, are we ready to transition to the more time-consuming way of attending an appointment or consultation that can still happen virtually?
Overall our society loves to find ways that improve our time constraints because most of us suffer from not enough hours in the day. Are we content to go back to that or improve the system we have been using for a year and transition into a more workable feature for patients and their providers? The question will compare and contrast whether the negatives outweigh the positives and the improvements that the negatives can take to allow the virtual experience to become more effective.
One negative effect of virtual consultations and visits is that not everything can effectively be seen through a computer camera. This reasoning is when problems arise for the provider and patient. Some criteria need to happen in the medspa market for all types of procedures such as skin type, texture, and damage. Those features cannot all be examined through a virtual appointment, which causes a treatment or procedure unavailable. Misdiagnosis is common in this setting because not all aspects of an in-person visit can be seen by the provider, which can negatively affect the provider and the patient.
Negative Features of Virtual Consultations
Virtual consultations are convenient, but all situations differ, and not all visits are appropriate for a virtual visit. Our society requires social interaction, and the last year has brought change to that with quarantine, virtual school, and work, and decrease inactivity. This feature is essential for some patients because it potentially may be the only interaction they receive as our limitations are still in place but have lifted many restrictions. Individuals who possess sensory or learning disabilities may struggle with the virtual environment; not every individual is technology literate, making for a secluded setting. When seclusion is already a feature in our lives, adding more will create more significant problems.
Data security is an issue in many markets within Aesthetic practices. Technology has come a long way, but cybersecurity is still a common problem. With medical appointments happening virtually, it leaves the question of whether it is as private as we believe it is. Many aging adults do not function well with technology, and they need assistance from younger individuals, while these adults are more susceptible to scams and entering personal information when asked. This age group is often the target of hackers, scammers, and phishing activity.
Positive Features of Virtual Consultations
Virtual consultations allow patients to attend appointments requiring the person who cares for them to take them to an appointment. Medical Spa’s target the aging process and the effects that this condition has on the skin, so realistically many of these individuals are older and require assistance attending medical appointments. That arrangement can be complex for many, which allows virtual consultations to benefit many.
Virtual appointments and consultations allow individuals in the workplace to attend their appointment without the need to leave work. This environment will enable individuals to care for their needs without using vacation and or a half-day work for the appointment and travel time. Virtual consultations create productive career and personal obligations while time management is enhanced.
The clinical sector also benefits from virtual consultations. They provide the time to address concerns that would potentially lead to a referral to another doctor due to time constraints from working that patient into the schedule. Providers can jump on a virtual session to assess the needs more quickly than scheduling an appointment to be seen in the face-to-face setting.
The Future of Virtual Consultations
Virtual consultations took prevalence to in-person office visits due to the pandemic with proven effectiveness to reduce the interaction of nonessential contact. It appears that medical care will continue to utilize this practice for future use as many are happy with the service of virtual consultations. The identification of the negative and positive features answers the question of what role they should follow. Virtual consultations are appropriate for some situations surrounding medical care. Still, an in-person office visit often needs to take precedence because many factors are too complicated to address through a camera and require hands-on patient and provider interaction.
Technology consistently transforms. While the virtual practice of visits started overnight, the kinks need to be worked out to provide essential features that give the appropriate care while honoring the privacy and cybersecurity of all individuals. Virtual consultations will need to develop and evolve to create a sound practice for this feature to continue. Still, only time will tell on the technological advancements that allow this to continue. Virtual consultations are not going to replace the need for in-person visits, but the likelihood of them having a place in the future of medical care is significant.
Conclusion
The pandemic brought obstacles that allowed the loopholes of our society to implement, and a massive portion of our lives have transitioned to the virtual world. Schools shut down, medical offices reduced their capacity, and quarantining approached every corner, but steps were taken for the world to keep running, and many markets obtained overall success. The drawbacks of the virtual community have been identified, and improvements are consistently updating to provide the best virtual experience.
The introduction of all things virtual has not been the perfect transition. Still, it shows our resilience in society to continue while obstacles and tragedy strike, changing our entire way of functioning. At Growth 99, we pride our ability to achieve the virtual platform and continue our growth and effective practices through virtual interactions while guiding clients through the day-to-day benefits of this market. Development takes shape when you are open to change and improvements while creating a stable environment for your virtual presence to take shape.
