Busy patients embracing telehealth benefits

25 May 2020

25 May 2020

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Karen was attending the hospital weekly for the New U Program, an education and exercise program for patients who have recently had bariatric surgery at St John of God Geelong Hospital.

When the program moved online last month due to pandemic restrictions, she found the ease of participating via telehealth not only allowed her to continue with this vital aspect of her recovery despite growing work pressures, it also bought her back the time she would normally have spent travelling for appointments.

“I’m really, really busy with work under normal circumstances, but in that environment - at the beginning of the pandemic - it was even worse,” said Karen, who works in HR and training for a large telecommunications company. 

“I was actually doing 17-hour days, seven days a week for a while there, so the advantage of not having to travel was really helpful,” she said.

Karen noted that she also valued the more direct and personalised instruction that online education and exercise physiology afforded, including one-on-one sessions gyms in the place of group fitness.

Adrian Hunter, also a participant in the program, said that having his surgery only just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic meant he had only been to one face-to-face session before it moved to online, but the transition couldn’t have been smoother.

 "(St John of God Health Care) set it all up and sent it to me in a way that it just went into my diary and I just clicked on the link when I was ready. Very easy,” said Adrian of his first telehealth appointment.

“You don’t have to make the trip to the hospital – over an hour travelling time - and you can do your exercises at home. It is much easier,” he said.

“Instead, I just walk in, turn it on, say hi, and the exercise physiologist demonstrates the new exercises on the screen. We can have a talk and it’s still personal. I think it’s pretty good.”

Both Karen and Adrian have found new ways to participate in the exercise program from home, using equipment they already owned like resistance bands, or items commonly found around the house, such as chairs or even flights of stairs.

In times gone by, worldwide upheavals such as wars and pandemic have often led to the biggest leaps forward in healthcare and the COVID-19 pandemic is shaping up as the upheaval that led to new options for busy people seeking additional flexibility in the delivery of their health services.