Telehealth has been on quite the journey since the days of Covid; increasingly used as a collaborative tool between healthcare providers. How can you collaborate even more via telehealth, particularly given the challenges it presents for podiatrists who need to be hands-on?
Despite its clear limitations, telehealth has the potential to influence how podiatrists deliver care, particularly in remote and underserved areas where access to specialised services may be limited. Yet arguably, one of the most transformative aspects of telehealth lies in its ability to facilitate collaborative care models.
So, what is the difference between shared care models and collaborative care models? Especially given a shared care model is described as: “where there is joint responsibility for planned care that is agreed between healthcare providers, the patient and any carers they would like to engage.”
It may be reasonable to suggest there are little, if any, differences between the two models; since they are frequently used interchangeably in the literature.
However, through the example of telehealth, collaborative care enables a health care provider, such as a podiatrist, to work remotely with an on-site support person. This on-site support can help to facilitate the practical requirements of an appointment – such as removing a patient’s shoe, ensuring the camera angle is focused, aiding a patient to safely stand, or clearing the space for them to walk.
In this collaborative care context, the ultimate responsibility for the patient is not shared but instead maintained by the podiatrist.
In the context of telehealth, this model can enable collaboration that may not otherwise be possible in-person.
Here are some ways this can work.
Studies show that the impact of collaborative care models has potentially far-reaching effects such as targeting areas such as existing workforce challenges, low levels of engagement, and workplace longevity.
The Rural Doctors Network is close to completing an in-person collaborative care program that brings health professionals together from nearby areas who may not otherwise have the opportunity or means to collaborate. The goal being to address primary health care challenges in remote and regional NSW, such as recruitment and retention issues. Given the universal nature of these challenges, widespread learnings are still valuable no matter where your location.
The overarching takeaway from such explorations is a reminder that in this post-Covid-enforced isolation era we live in, telehealth still holds such potential for podiatrists, particularly when viewed through a collaborative lens.
There is scope to reach patients who may otherwise not be able to access podiatric services, such as those in remote or rural areas, or who are unable to physically attend an appointment and cannot access in-home care.
The first step is to think outside the box and consider how telehealth can help you to fulfill your role but in a different way; to see it as a truly collaborative tool that expands your patients’ horizons, your colleague’s engagement, and even your own networks.
© Copyright 2021 The Australian Podiatry Association