A gastroenterologist consultant, Dr Kenneth Tachi says clinical examination is sometimes overrated.

He explained that it is because often times when a person does an examination, he or she must go to the next step to do further investigations or imaging to try and confirm what they’ve felt clinically.

He was discussing “Telemedicine: Healing from a distance’ on JoyFM’s Ultimate Health hosted by Nortey Dua.

As defined by the WHO, telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare services where distance is a critical factor by all healthcare professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation for the continuing education of healthcare providers all in the interest of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.

Telemedicine essentially provides remote clinical services in real-time via communication between a provider and a patient.

Enumerating the benefits of telemedicine, Dr Tachi said it enables a patient to access healthcare at their convenience.

He explained that “you may be sitting at home feeling unwell, you just have to log onto your computer or smartphone, identify a clinician and ask that you want to see an obstetrician or neurologist.

"Book an appointment and then, at the time allotted, the neurologist appears on your screen, have a discussion, asks you questions similar to what you would get asked at a hospital, you’re examined, diagnosed and medication prescribed to the patient”.

As co-founder of All Round Specialists Virtual Clinic, Dr Tachi says he’s not surprised that some people are sceptical about using telemedicine because they think there’s no examination.

He further explained that clinical examination entails several things such as inspection or looking.

And the right telemedicine should be audiovisual so the doctor can see the patient and ask questions, assess the patient’s demeanour, or check if there are any changes to the patient’s body.

He added that for telemedicine to be effective, the provider must be experienced and said, “If you’re going to get healthcare online, you should be very sure that the person you’re consulting is experienced because the provider must make a decision whether it’s okay to continue seeing you online or in-person."