In the year 2019 BC (Before Covid), society was trundling along, generally business as usual. Then suddenly, we had a lurching shift demanding that everything we once knew now had to be done remotely. Our businesses went online, schooling went into Google class mode, and we attended meetings via Zoom in a business shirt with pyjamas and slippers hidden out of camera view.
These Zoom meetings were frequently interrupted by children’s tantrums, a flatmate asking who drank the last of the milk, or a spouse crawling behind the screen to retrieve something. In healthcare we suddenly had to shift to Telehealth, typically done over a secure video-based platform. During this time, I began to appreciate a core role for all healthcare professionals – that of educating patients about their condition, what it takes to get better and so on.
We have always done this as health professionals, but because it lacked the hands-on element, Telehealth brought education into focus. Health professionals start by asking questions about how the injury occurred, a description of symptoms, and how different movements or activities affected them. This detailed period of questioning is followed by a series of tests, essentially attempting to provoke symptoms.
In short, this is the diagnostic process. Time is then spent explaining the diagnosis, the patterns, healing timelines, the consequences of the injury on the person’s daily life, and much more. Over those two years when Telehealth was our modu.