Progress 2021: Providers expand use of telemedicine as need grows during the pandemic

Healthcare agencies across the Valley have shifted a large portion of their services online to adapt to the pandemic. Telemedicine models vary by agency, but the goal remains the same. Each facility is working to offer a continuum of care while balancing in person and remote appointments.

Capstone Clinic has been at the forefront of Alaskan COVID-19 efforts since the outbreak, providing screenings in communities across the state, developing a widely used application for tracking and reporting cases, and building relationships well beyond the Mat-Su Valley.

Capstone founder Dr. Wade Erickson said they already had an established telemedicine model prior to the pandemic, so they were lined up well for a mostly seamless transition to adapt to the surrounding conditions.

“We’ve been doing it for a long time. It never really took off until COVID made it,” Erickson said.

According to Erickson, the pandemic accelerated the overall evolution of telemedicine between the technology, scope, trends, general practices, and future uses and norms. He said that local patients are utilizing telemedicine at an increasing rate.

“Now people use it interchangeably with their in person visits… I think it will change medicine forever. This now has become sort of mainstream,” Erickson said.

Erickson noted that remote appointments have an increased potential for diagnostic inaccuracies due to the lack of physical presence and interpersonal communication lost over the video conference.

He said that in the end, it will be up to both patients and providers to weigh the risks and benefits to schedule an appointment virtually or in person.

“I would say that folks that use it generally appreciate it because of its convenience,” Erickson said.

Set Free Alaska is a faith based substance abuse treatment center, and one of several behavioral health agencies across the Valley that are adapting to the surrounding conditions to maintain social connections, a key component in their field. Executive Director Philip Licht said they’ve managed to keep up with the ever changing situation.

“I think like everybody, there’s been an increase in stress. Stress of the unknown, fear of everything going coupled with just the general challenges as a result of covid and everything else, we’re seeing an impact to our clients and our staff,” Licht said.

Licht said that despite the various challenges, Set Free Alaska faced this year, there’s been numerous silver linings, including their boosted roster of staff members. He said they grew from 47 staff to 77 over the last year.

“What we found through the year is that we’ve had to adapt in several ways like trying to encourage the team. If we can help manage our own emotions and get out of the emotions of the crisis, and if we can get out of the zone of having to put out fires, there’s an opportunity for us to serve the community in this time, and there’s still a lot of need out there. We have a lot of people struggling with mental health and substance abuse… We can help be a part of that solution,” Licht said.

Another highlight from 2020 includes their recent expansion into Homer, opening an adult outpatient treatment center for substance abuse.

Set Free Alaska is offering a hybrid of in-person and remote meetings. According to Licht, there are numerous protocols in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. He said that a majority of their group meetings are being held virtually as a result of this.

Licht said that telemedicine has been an integral part of their mitigation efforts. He said there are several pros and cons to remote appointments. He said some of the benefits include ease of access and reduced travel costs, particularly for rural and remote patients; and overall time saved. The cons mostly center on the lack of physical presence and the interpersonal interactions, particularly from the group settings.

“Some of the clients miss being in person. They miss what happens before the group and after the group, those conversations that take place, the relationships they build that aren't necessarily during the therapy… Losing a little bit of the community and the relational aspect when you're all over the Zoom,” Licht said.

When it comes down to it, Licht said that virtual connection is still connection, and maintaining these social interactions regardless of the circumstances are vital to clients’ overall success rates.

“It’s very difficult, if not impossible to do this alone, to do life alone,” Licht said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com