The importance of the PCP we are missing

https://bit.ly/2VaGK3k

Dr Varshavski ‘s article is exactly what our system is all about. The industry is facing major challenges and as such opportunities as well, but we can never lose sight of the importance of the doctor patient relationship that must be the foundation of any viable solution. For to long our system has been ignoring the importance of PCP’ s in addressing the critical issues we are facing in healthcare. PCP’s must be the gatekeepers for any system claiming to address the critical issues facing the industry.

As I have been saying for years now a video conference between a doctor and a patient’s thousands of miles apart from each other with no medical history or relationship between them is nothing more than an expensive Skype meeting.

Therefore, when I refer to our system, I avoid the use of the term telemedicine and refer to it as an interactive preventive system. Only an interactive preventive system can address the critical issues we face as it is evident from the article as well. A system where the PCP is given the ability to monitor his patients based on the parameters that he feels are relevant to that patient and interact with them based on the information that is provided to him and as such prevent critical and expensive consequences. Not an EMR that many of them hate already as they already spend 50% of their time navigating through not useless applications that inundates them with irrelevant data but rather a system that provides them with the information that they ask for and when they ask for it.  A system that can help them focus their attention on those that needs it. Not until we recognizes the relevance and effectives of the PCP’s will we be able to start resolving these issues.