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TELEMEDICINE
Telemedicine Incorporation into
a PCP During the Pandemic
By Joyce Yuen, DO, and Ramon Cancino, MD, MS, FAAFP
With the emergence of SARS-CoV-
2, the novel coronavirus that causes
COVID-19, the medical community
had to quickly adapt from traditional
face-to-face healthcare delivery to
one that utilizes more telemedicine
due to concerns about potential risk
of exposure to clinicians, staff, pa-
tients and the community. While the
concept of telemedicine is not new,
multiple barriers constricted physi-
cians from fully embracing this tech-
nology, including compliance and
1,2
reimbursement concerns. However,
recent policy changes have reduced
the barriers to provide telemedicine
3
to patients. During this public health
emergency, in order to maintain the
ability to care for its patients, UT
Health San Antonio implemented
telemedicine. UT Health Physicians
primary care was one of the first UT
Health Physicians practices to imple-
ment video visits, and was the first to
implement On-Demand Urgent Care
video visits to meet the acute medical
needs of its patient population.
18 San Antonio Medicine • November 2020
