Do you believe telehealth is effective in a Nephrology practice?
While telehealth principles have been applied to patient care for years in Nephrology, it has come to the forefront in recent years. Your interviewers want any physician they consider for their practice to have a positive outlook on telehealth and a vision for where it will go in the future.
"I believe it is effective in the right situations. Over the last three years, I've experienced the benefits of remote patient monitoring using telehealth. While it has certainly freed up much-needed clinical space, it was also a huge benefit to the patient by keeping them in their home and limiting their travel. In surveys of my patients using at-home monitoring, a vast majority were happy with their care and had great outcomes. I'm excited to see what further advances happen in this area in the coming years."
Although telehealth has limitations, including the inability to do a physical exam and obtain vitals, it is a useful way to reach out to patients who otherwise would not be able to get care. For this reason, we must embrace telehealth platforms while recognizing that they are not ideal. Your answer should provide the pros and cons of telehealth and any direct examples of its use you are familiar with.
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I believe it is effective in the right situations. For existing, educated, motivated patients, I think the patients benefit by keeping them in their homes and limiting their travel and potential for infection. However for new patients, I find it much more difficult to engage them in the importance and need for self-education and management of their conditions, and I feel some patients don’t view telehealth as a proper appointment and interpret it as the doctor is less invested or concerned about their care, and for these patients, I think telehealth is much less effective. Additionally, while home BPs, weights, and self-reports of ankle swelling are OK, I still feel examination is a significant part of the consultation, and I feel by not examining the patient it would be easy to miss things such as worsened dyspnea in a stoic patient, or the gestalt that something is “just not right” which have previously identified serious problems before which I don’t think I would be able to identify via telehealth.
Krista's Feedback
This is a great answer, showing the interviewer that you are open to using new technologies but are also aware of the importance of in-person visits.
Unlock all 35 Nephrology questions
Unlock expert responses for kidney care and renal subspecialty interviews.
Get Started