Honestly I was not aware of the differences between telehealth and telemedicine before this lecture. During the pandemic it has been crucial, particularly spring and summer of 2020. I know from a mental health standpoint, many patients would not have gotten the help they needed without the bridging the gap between in person visits through telehealth, myself included. With regards to the history Telehealth and telemedicine, both have been around for awhile but these have dramatically expanded during the pandemic. This summer for example, I had a patient that utilized glucose monitoring with their doctor to manage their diabetes so that they didn’t have to go into the doctor’s office so often and the doctor could trend the numbers. 

Telehealth and telemedicine help us open doors to new possibilities of expanding access to care. The concept of these makes us as health care providers but also as a society think of more ways we can get others the care they need. This gets us thinking about all the ways we help others overcome various barriers. This is not the end all, be all. This is only the beginning of telehealth and telemedicine. At the end of the day, this helps prevent illnesses sooner.