A study conducted by Chia-Chun Chiang, MD, and colleagues shows that telemedicine has enabled care for many patients with headaches during the COVID-19 period. Since March 2020, many health care organizations in the US have canceled optional, nonurgent procedures and clinics in reaction to the COVID-19 emergency. Telemedicine was fast adopted and has now developed into an essential healthcare tool. It reduces the physical and geographic barriers, prevents the spread of the virus, and saves personal protective equipment.
The researchers did an online survey to assess the patients' perspectives regarding headache care using telemedicine throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the desire of patients to continue using telemedicine even after the pandemic ends. The survey had 1172 respondents with a mean age of 45.9 years. Most of the respondents (86.8%) were women.
The survey participants were asked if they utilized telemedicine appointments for their headache problems during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Most patients (57.5%) said yes, while the rest said no. Among those who said no, 56.1% said they did not have a reason for telemedicine visits, while 25.2% reported they did not know about the option. 85.5% of those who said yes used telemedicine for follow-up headache care. The results of the survey exhibited that patients were satisfied with the use of telemedicine for headache treatment. 62.1% reported their experience as very good, and 20.7% said it is good.
The results show that telemedicine offers patients a chance to better control their headache problems without the need to travel and expose themselves to the risk of getting COVID-19.
The researchers also noted various barriers to care that manifested in the study results. Respondents who did not use telemedicine mentioned different reasons, including not being aware of the telemedicine option, utilizing telemedicine but not being provided with the opportunity by their healthcare provider, telemedicine not being covered by insurance, and not having the required technology to connect with providers.
Chiang highlighted various steps to address these challenges. These steps include expanding insurance coverage for telemedicine even after the end of the pandemic and promoting telemedicine so that patients can know it is an available option to them. She also stated that telemedicine is restrained to patients with a reliable internet connection and that internet access is necessary while working to enhance telemedicine headache care.

Covid-19 has profoundly changed our lives. The thought that the person next to you can potentially affect you has exponentially increased everyone's anxiety, thus affecting how people work and interact with each other. This has, however, become a severe challenge when it comes to persons experiencing homelessness. —who basically can't survive without sharing some facilities such as bathing and ablutions.

Because of their increased risk of contracting and spreading the virus, local officials, health care providers, and other service providers have prioritized their care. For impactful and efficient care to this vulnerable group, health care experts have opted to leverage the power of technology. They are now using Telemedicine in providing much-needed help to homeless people.

Telemedicine is currently playing a significant role in providing patients with a convenient and cheap method of consulting clinicians. One most basic form of Telemedicine is telephone communication. This approach has made it easy to deliver much-needed quality health care to vulnerable patients virtually. Telemedicine is a more advanced form of video conferencing, which allows for real-time encounters and viewing of images and patient documents simultaneously.

Years ago, Telemedicine could not be practical for the homeless. However, things have changed, and technology is now accessible to almost everyone. Through the help of various organizations, Telemedicine has made it easier for the homeless to receive better health care. In a partnership announced last year, veterans dealing with homelessness were given the privilege of consulting with caseworkers through telehealth kiosks.

Generally, the homeless community has always had it rough accessing health care services, particularly specialty care such as otolaryngology. Here's what a Chicago-based otolaryngologist had to say.

"I worked as an otolaryngologist at the Chicago Franciscan Outreach shelter for three years. Unfortunately, we only made it there a few days a month to help patients with tonsillitis, sinusitis, hearing loss, ear infections, and thyroid disorders. As such, our impact was limited. The onset of Covid-19 further paralyzed our services, forcing us to prioritize routine screenings.

To help solve the health care crisis within the homeless community, we have decided to partner with Rush University Medical Center and local homeless advocates to launch a virtual care program. Our primary focus is to provide otolaryngology care. The lost will have their ear, nose, and throat issues virtually addressed by a physician from a kiosk. Once in a while, they will get the opportunity for an in-person visit.

From my experience working with underserved communities, the best way to serve the homeless is to bring care to their doorstep. Besides making it easily accessible, it goes a long way in helping them save on the little money they have.

Combining Telemedicine and in-person visits are not limited to only delivering otolaryngology care. The same can be applied to other specialties in medicine across the United States to improve access to health care, cut down the costs involved, reduce the time wasted in delivering services face to face, and effectively care for the people struggling with homelessness."

Here is no doubt that the ongoing COVID19 pandemic has had an impact on our way of life. Doctor and medical appointments are among the typical routines that have been disrupted and gave way to telemedicine. According to Colleen McCormick, the director of sustainability at UC Davis, the popularity and use of telemedicine have grown up to 3000% since the pandemic hit, which has suggested it might be the best way to handle climate change. Let's try and dissect Miss McCormick's statement and see how it might help climate change.

For starters, the number of patients' visits to hospitals in 2019 was 122 million. This number includes both light and life-threatening health conditions. It also takes into account the dentist appointments. 2019 registered the highest number of hospital visits in the 2010s decade.

Due to social distancing and 'stay at home' initiatives to reduce the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the number of hospital visits has significantly dropped by 32%. The figure has remained constant for the non-COVID hospital admissions.

The reduced number of hospital visits and the inclusion of telemedicine has eliminated a need to drive to and from the hospital, according to Peter Yellowless of UC Davis, which has contributed to a 10% reduction in carbon emission. That's a lot of carbon emission reduction, where the US healthcare systems are among the most pollutant sectors worldwide.

Given the advancements made in the technology sectors and the willingness of the healthcare sectors to adopt these technologies, it has resulted in telemedicine aiding in the following ways:

• Non-physical follow-up appointments
• basic consultations
• improving comfort and convenience of patients and doctors through virtual visits
• helped to keep people safe in their homes, hence curbing the spread of COVID19

Other than reducing carbon emission through reduced driving, patients can save money, with millions of dollars that would have been spent on fuel since the pandemic started being saved or included in other expenditures.

The only hope is for healthcare facilities and patients to keep using telemedicine post-pandemic to keep the current changes permanent and improve.