Today, Dr. Richard Heard from Gastroenterology Associates of Columbus joins Troy to discuss telemedicine.
For more information, call (662) 327-7525 or visit www.columbusgi.com
Troy thompson: welcome to on the beat, everyone.
I'm troy thompson.
Joining me today is of course, dr. richard heard from gastroenterology and associates.
Welcome to the show, my friend.
Nice to see you.
Dr. heard: good to see you too, troy.
Thanks.
Troy thompson: okay.
Well, we're talking telemedicine and we asked you to give us an example of what it would look like if i was a patient and we were doing telemedicine.
This is what it would look like, correct?
Dr. heard: yeah, that's right.
Last time i had the whole set up, this beautiful thing in my living room, so it would all look good on tv, but today i thought, you know what, my patients need to see what they're going to see when they come on.
This is my spare bedroom in my house and this is just where we had to set up to make all this happen.
I mean, things are different now so you have to make do with the way they are.
Troy thompson: well, and something i wanted to say to you, doctor, is telemedicine is here to stay.
A year ago, telemedicine has been around for quite a few years, let's be honest, but no one's really got into it until these last few months.
I have to be honest with you, it's really here to stay, right?
Dr. heard: i think so.
It has been a lifesaver for us and for our business, but i mean, also for our patients to not have to come in to have that risk of exposure literally could have been lifesaving for some of them.
But then convenience, oh my gosh.
I mean, you can just stay at home and have access to great medical care.
Yeah, everything can't be done over telemedicine, but my advice can certainly be given over telemedicine.
Troy thompson: well, i think it's a brilliant thing, especially when it comes to followups after a procedure, where we don't necessarily need to come in and see you, but we may have some questions.
Dr. heard: yeah, sure.
It's real easy to pop on and have a visit.
We get more information being able to lay our eyes on you too, rather than just talking over the telephone.
Troy thompson: okay.
I do want to ask you, how does someone at home who may not be very savvy when it comes to computers like you and i, because this is what we do now, how do they participate in online telemedicine?
Dr. heard: yeah, it's really easy.
I mean, if you want an appointment, you just call our office, just like you would for any appointment.
They'll probably ask you what you want, if you want to be in person or over telemedicine.
But then when it comes down for your appointment, i put in your phone number and you get a text with a link in it.
You click on the link and i pop up on your screen and you pop up on my screen and we talk.
Troy thompson: oh, wow.
Dr. heard: yeah, it's very easy.
Troy thompson: that's super easy.
Why aren't we doing it like that?
Dr. heard: i know!
Troy thompson: our thing's a little bit more complicated.
Dr. heard: no, you don't have to download any app.
You don't have to do anything.
You just click a link.
Troy thompson: that is amazing.
Well, one thing i do want to ask you, and i'm sure our viewers at home would like to know as well, how secure is it when it comes to me discussing my medical history and things like that with you?
Dr. heard: very secure.
We use hipaa compliant servers.
Right now they've actually waived some hippa regulations to let people get by during the pandemic, but the software wave to chosen to use is hipaa compliant.
Every bit of safety that you get from any electronic communication with the medical professionals is just this the same with this video telehealth.
Troy thompson: okay.
Look, there are people out there that aren't savvy when it comes to having the video and things like that, like we are now.
They can still do what we call telemedicine just by voice, is that correct?
Dr. heard: right.
Some healthcare payers, some insurance providers, will allow for visits just over phone.
Troy thompson: very quickly, doing telemedicine, that's still part of your insurance, is it?
Dr. heard: oh, yeah, yeah.
Absolutely.
Right now, they're covering it just like a regular visit, it's through the end of the year.
As you said, i think telemedicine is here to stay.
I think they're going to see some overwhelming push to keep it going that way.
I mean, this has just worked so well.
Troy thompson: well, as always doctor, you give us great information.
We really appreciate you coming in again today.
Dr. heard: yeah.
Thank you, troy.
Troy thompson: if you want to find out more information, there it all is up on the screen for you, gastroenterology and associates.
Back
Today, Dr. Richard Heard from Gastroenterology and Associates joins Troy to discuss Telemedicine.