Neil H. Baum, MD

Neil H. Baum, MD, Professor of Clinical Urology at Tulane Medical School, discusses how much COVID-19 has changed the demand for telemedicine, particularly for seniors who are considered more at-risk, and therefore need to avoid clinical visits as much as possible. Dr. Baum highlights a secondary motivator for the increased use of telemedicine: there is a shortage of urologists, particularly in rural areas, which can be addressed with telemedicine. Conventional wisdom used to hold that older patients were not amenable to telemedicine because of technology barriers. Dr. Baum introduces solutions, including triangulation, in which telemedicine is facilitated by having a third person in the room. He also explains how to prepare senior patients for these visits, as well as his six steps for creating a successful virtual visit. He notes that it is imperative that the instructions are short, to the point, and easy to follow. Finally, Dr. Baum emphasizes the importance of soliciting feedback on the experience from patients to improve their experience.

Neil H. Baum, MD, Clinical Professor of Urology at Tulane Medical School and author of the book Marketing Your Clinical Practice – Ethically, Effectively, and Economically, discusses why telemedicine etiquette is so important in these times of COVID-19. He emphasizes that good urologic care no longer requires doctors to touch the patients and that there are a large number of urologic patients that are very amenable to telemedicine. Dr. Baum highlights that many post-operative visits can be done via telemedicine, in some cases up to 50%, but emphasizes that successful meetings require preparation. He outlines the importance of having good equipment, lighting, and connectivity, as well as minimizing noise and other distractions. Dr. Baum also discusses some of the different tests that can be sent to a patient and be done from their home and the fact that more and more of this sort of patient care is going to become available as time goes on.