As the telemedicine industry matures in the US, there’s a job that at least one provider anticipates will grow in demand in the next few years: telepresenters.
They are a bit like medical assistants or physician assistants but instead of working in the physician’s office they are working with him or her remotely as they help patients with aspects of a physical exam.
In an interview with MedCity News, St. Louis-based Mercy Health Vice President of Telehealth Services Wendy Deibert described this emerging role as one that assists the remote physician on the patient side. For example, if they are a stroke victim or are otherwise unable to — helping the patient raise their hands, or using medical devices for the physician such as an otoscope to look inside the patient’s ear.
“It’s a new and evolving role. It could be as simple as doing vital signs for a psychiatry patient. You might need to interpret smell for the physician because you can’t smell through the camera. It doesn’t have to be a nurse, it could be an LPN or a medical assistant or patient care tech or nurse’s aid .. as long as they know how to take vital signs and open up electronic medical records…”
