Patient Prefers Convenience and Ease of Access With Virtual Primary Care

Tricia Honn, SLP, is a caregiver at Cleveland Clinic, providing speech-language pathology services, more commonly known as speech therapy, to patients with communication limitations.

She’s also a Cleveland Clinic patient who describes herself as medically complicated. Age 55, Tricia has been diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease, a thyroid disorder, adrenal gland insufficiency, osteoporosis and depression.

“My health issues seem to multiply as I go through the aging process,” says Tricia, who found herself becoming fatigued trying to manage her conditions while coordinating care with her primary care physician. “I’d see my primary care doctor a couple times a year and spend most of the appointment providing an update on my health with no time to address my current concerns.”

Like many of us, Tricia first learned about the virtual practice of medicine, or telehealth, during the COVID pandemic. She even provided care to some of her patients that way.

“I began researching options for virtual primary care in the hope that I’d be able to see a physician more frequently and be able to do so conveniently, given my hectic, harried overpacked schedule,” she says.

Her search led her to Norman Reid Perala, MD, a Cleveland Clinic family medicine physician who specializes in the virtual practice of medicine.

“During my residency, there was talk about a shortage of primary care physicians. That’s been a concern for a while, and it made me think that maybe there was a way technology could help increase access to care,” says Dr. Perala. “When COVID hit, everyone adapted quickly to telemedicine and many liked it because it eliminates barriers to care like geographic access, lack of a vehicle or childcare, or being unable to get off work.”

Another benefit of virtual primary care is ease of scheduling. With three physicians now part of Cleveland Clinic’s virtual primary care program, most patients can schedule an appointment within one week, versus possibly waiting a month or more for a traditional office visit.

“With virtual medicine, we can also see patients more often, and spend more time with them if needed,” says Dr. Perala, who explains that virtual appointments are conducted via Zoom. “Once the appointment is scheduled, it takes just one click for patients to connect. Most patients do this using a smart phone, which means it’s easy to connect from anywhere.”

Tricia is grateful that Dr. Perala has taken an active role in understanding her overall health, working with her to proactively manage her chronic conditions via virtual appointments every three months, often scheduled during her lunch break.

“The frequency of appointments means nothing slips through the cracks. And time is never an issue. While Dr. Perala is always well prepared in advance for our appointments that typically last about 20 minutes, I know he will spend more time with me if I’m having a specific issue,” says Tricia, who is so pleased with her virtual primary care relationship with Dr. Perala – the two have never met in person – that she has referred both her husband and son to him for care. “If I have questions or concerns between appointments, Dr. Perala and his support team are very responsive to MyChart messages and emails.”

According to Dr. Perala, while telemedicine currently provides a great alternative for primary care and even some specialty care, it will play an even more significant role going forward.

“We already know that virtual primary care, which is typically covered by health insurance just like a traditional office visit, improves health outcomes by making it easier for patients to access care sooner. And while there are some things that require a patient to be seen in-person, the use of telemedicine and its benefits are only going to expand with the pace of technology,” he says.