Patient Perspectives on Telehealth and In-Person Care in the Time of COVID-19

COVID-19 – the illness caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) – has brought unprecedented challenges for both patients with IBD and their care providers. In this post, members of the Patient Advisory Council share perspectives on accessing telehealth and in-person care in the time of COVID-19, and recommendations for improving together.

We believe these perspectives are important for individuals with IBD to review and consider, because the quality of our care is directly tied to our long-term health and wellbeing. If we possibly have less effective care during a pandemic, it can have downstream effects on our health and our lives.

Our ability to communicate quickly and effectively with care teams is essential to ongoing successful treatment and management of IBD. While utilizing online telehealth resources can sometimes make connecting easier, it can definitely be difficult to communicate effectively about certain symptoms without a physical exam. Here are some recommendations we believe can help make telemedicine visits more reliable and proactive:

Patients with IBD may experience difficulty going out, whether it be socially or to attend in-person medical appointments, having an overactive or suppressed immune system can lead to concerns about being exposed to illness or getting run down. Because of this, we may be more prone to isolation and this can negatively affect our mental health. Additionally, the added stress we may feel about following or not following COVID-19 guidelines can impact our mental health and our physical health. Here are some recommendations we believe can help make in-person care safer and less stressful:

Thanks for reading and considering these perspectives and recommendations. We (Rohit, Fionna, Nour and Quint) welcome your input as well. You can reach out to us on PAC social media channels (@ICNPatients) or contact us via improvecarenow.org/patients.

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