Myth: Health issues cannot be accurately diagnosed in a virtual visit.
Many common ailments can be appropriately and accurately diagnosed through virtual visits. By having a thorough conversation and visually assessing a patient through video, providers can get a detailed understanding of a patient’s symptoms, make an informed diagnosis and recommend treatment.
A Mayo Clinic study found that for patients with new clinical concerns, diagnoses made through telehealth matched the diagnosis made through in-person visits about 87% of the time. For behavioral health issues, this proved to be true 96% of the time.
Myth: Telehealth is only appropriate for minor issues or illnesses.
While it’s true that some health conditions really need to be addressed in person, many health concerns and symptoms are well suited for a virtual visit, including:
- Cold and flu symptoms
- Mild respiratory issues
- Skin conditions such as rashes or insect bites
- Urinary tract infections
- Behavioral health concerns
- Medication management or follow-up questions
Some symptoms and conditions do require hands-on evaluation, lab work, imaging or other procedures. Patients experiencing severe pain, bleeding, injury or signs of a medical emergency should seek in-person care.
Myth: Telehealth visits are not private or secure.
Authorized telehealth platforms must use HIPAA-compliant encryption to protect patient privacy and keep all information secure. This encryption protects video, audio and messaging from being accessed by unauthorized sources.
Patients can keep their own information secure by activating appropriate security controls on their personal devices, conducting telehealth visits from a private location and using multifactor authentication.
