Letter: Good medical care requires physical contact with patient

November 25, 2014

Telehealth can't replace personal encounters with patients, a physician writes

After reading Jeffrey Bendix’s article, "Technology Opens New Avenues for Patient Communication” in your October 10 issue, I feel that anyone’s enthusiasm for video visits and e-visits should be dampened by the lack of physical contact between doctor and patient. Inevitably patients will suffer and malpractice lawyers will be busy as a result.

Call me old-fashioned, but physical exam is important in diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Rosalind Shorenstein, MD, FACP

Santa Cruz, California