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SALT LAKE CITY — Ten-year-old Kaden Marvell gets a check-up with his doctor in Salt Lake City from his home in Rock Springs, Wyoming. They're using telehealth: technology that delivers virtual medicine to a clinic just 5 minutes from Kaden's home, saving him and his mom a six-hour round-trip drive.
"We don't have to miss school or miss a whole day of work or drive all the way down there," said Angie Palm, Kaden's mother.
Palm said Marvell's accident was "very terrifying." It happened last summer. He was on a four-wheeler.
"We were driving, and we were going too fast on a turn and the four-wheeler rolled over," Marvell said. He broke a growth plate, leg, elbow and jaw.
His doctor has records, notes, and X-rays at her fingertips.
"I think they like seeing themselves on TV," said Dr. Theresa Hennessey at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Salt Lake City.
A physician assistant trained with the attendings is in Wyoming with Kaden. But is it as thorough as an in-person visit?
"I think because the PA is on the other end we're able to get a really good exam," Hennessey said.
She said telemedicine is a good adjunct to the way things have traditionally been done in medicine.
According to U.S. News & World Report the benefits of telemedicine include: convenience, cost efficiency and less time in the waiting room. The three most common downsides are: electronic glitches, physician resistance and inadequate assessment where certain nonverbal cues might get missed.
"We always tell the families if this isn't ideal, if we're not comfortable with the exam, we're going to bring you down to Salt Lake City," Hennessey said.
Deborah Watkins, of Shriners Hospitals for Children, said, "For a patient that's a newer patient, that the disease is progressing more rapidly, we would really want to have a hands-on and make sure that we have a full evaluation so that we don't miss anything at all."
But especially during the winter months, telemedicine has its appeal.
"As a parent myself, our roads can be pretty treacherous in the wintertime, so this is an amazing asset to be able to keep them here," said Amy Dolce, physician assistant at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Experts advise patients should still aim to visit with their physicians in person when possible.
Marvell and his mom say this day's televisit is a win-win, especially after receiving good news from their doctor.
"Kaden, it looks great!" Hennessey said. "No more ATV accidents."
