How Telehealth Is Changing Doctor-Patient Bonds
July 20, 2025 by Medigroup
The world has changed with the advent of new technologies. And the world of medicine is no exception. Virtual appointments change the interaction between doctor and patient, sometimes dramatically. Patients must learn new ways to interact with their doctors and find them convenient. Doctors must restructure their workflows when implementing telemedicine applications if they want to offer quality online services to patients. Telemedicine creates new ways of interaction that offer increased comfort. Let’s discuss the features of patient engagement in healthcare.
Telehealth and Patient Engagement
The economic benefits of the new approach to providing medical services are high. Telemedicine appointments are cheaper and require fewer resources. Experts note an increase in the number of patients, which has a potentially positive effect on the profits of any medical practice. Of course, it is much easier to contact a doctor without leaving home. He does not have to stand in line, get ready, or go somewhere. And even temporarily in another city, he does not need to interrupt an online consultation with his doctor. After all, he can contact him wherever he is.
Digital consultations enable people to participate more actively in their everyday health care. Patients become more informed and involved in decision-making with easy access to doctors, medical records, and follow-up care via online platforms. This increases treatment adherence and builds trust and engagement between patients and healthcare providers.
But perhaps there are risks? Health care is based on a trusting relationship between patients and their doctors. Can a virtual appointment also change the way doctors and patients interact with each other? What are the pros and cons of telemedicine compared to a traditional in-person appointment?
Benefits of Telemedicine for Strengthening Doctor-Patient Relationships
A strong doctor-patient relationship is the foundation of quality care. Some doubt that telemedicine can do this. But what if, when used correctly, it only strengthens trust and communication effectiveness?
For residents of rural and remote areas, telemedicine is often the only way to get qualified care without grueling and long trips. Since 2010, more than 70 public hospitals have closed in the United States, and another 280 are at risk.
Telemedicine consultations allow patients to see a doctor or specialist faster, bypassing long waits in lines. This is especially important for people with limited mobility or chronic diseases. The doctor essentially “comes” to the patient online, relieving him of the physical difficulties and stress associated with travel.
Online visits remove barriers that traditionally hindered the strengthening of doctor-patient relationships: travel and long waits at the clinic. Now, you can get help from home or anywhere with internet access.
Telemedicine increases patient engagement in the treatment process. It gives patients easy access to doctors, frequent follow-up visits, and personalized digital tools. Thus, telemedicine motivates patients to actively participate in maintaining their health. Engaged patients are more likely to follow treatment plans, undergo preventive examinations, and build long-term trust in their doctors.
Patients value this convenience. That is why the level of satisfaction with telemedicine services remains consistently high. The ability to easily contact a doctor increases trust and makes treatment more accessible and effective. Effective patient healthcare engagement leads to better treatment outcomes and stronger patient-provider relationships.
Today, many Americans face high insurance premiums and hefty co-pays. About 13% of U.S. adults are uninsured, and out-of-pocket costs are rising yearly for the rest. In 2017, 43.2% of adults had high-deductible insurance, up from 39.4% in 2016.
Unsurprisingly, patients often skip routine care and preventive exams if they can’t afford the cost.
Telemedicine solves this problem by
- lowering costs for clinics,
- making treatments more accessible to patients,
- preventing trips to expensive emergency rooms.
Telemedicine strengthens the doctor-patient bond that expensive insurance plans threaten to damage. Patient engagement in telehealth is indispensable.
The key benefit of telemedicine is its cost-effectiveness for patients and healthcare professionals. Virtual visits reduce administrative costs for clinics and hospitals, and patients save on transportation. This mutual financial benefit creates a more sustainable healthcare model. Telemedicine makes quality healthcare accessible to a wider population.
Waiting for a doctor’s appointment in the U.S. can take weeks.
1. In Washington, you have to wait 32 days to see a cardiologist.
2. In Los Angeles, the wait time to see a dermatologist is 14 days.
3. In Detroit, it takes 18 days for an appointment with an orthopedist to open.
On average, patients wait 24 days to see a doctor. As the doctor shortage grows, the situation is only getting worse.
Telemedicine allows you to bypass these barriers. The patient receives a consultation on the same day without long waits and treatment delays.
Disadvantages of Telemedicine for the Doctor-Patient Relationship
The main disadvantage of telemedicine is the lack of physical contact. An in-person meeting allows the doctor to immediately conduct a full examination, which is impossible to achieve online. However, modern technologies are significantly reducing this gap. For example, it’s possible to use applications that allow the doctor to see the patient and assess breathing, skin tone, mobility, speech, and cognitive reactions. This is usually checked in the first minutes of an in-person appointment.
Research shows that even in this format, doctors can successfully make diagnoses, and the results of online visits lead to a decrease in hospitalizations and an improvement in the quality of treatment.
However, some doctors prefer telemedicine only for patients they already know, believing it is easier to establish trust in a personal meeting. If a patient avoids medical care due to the complexity and cost of a face-to-face visit, then telemedicine becomes the most effective way to reach him.
Conclusions
Telemedicine is a real way to increase the continuity of medical care. With its help, a person can seek help at any time. Telemedicine makes help available to patients. This is how medical offices, physician offices, clinics, surgery centers, and urgent care centers can attract more and more patients and make their services available to them. This format reduces costs, saves patients’ time, and significantly expands the possibilities of receiving help when needed. Telemedicine changes the relationship between patients and doctors, and for the better. Contact MediGroup to learn more about contracted vendors for telemedicine and remote patient monitoring.
With nearly 25 years of experience, MediGroup leads the industry in focused group purchasing, offering modern cost-saving solutions and expertise to physician practices, surgery centers, and non-acute care facilities. Our passion for contract negotiation provides competitive pricing and flexibility, saving time and money while improving operational efficiency. Join us to optimize your purchasing power and patient care process.
Location: Chesterfield, MO
Areas of expertise: Contract negotiation, cost-saving solutions for medical facilities, building connections between practices, supply chain management.
