Dr. Danielle H. came onboard with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte six months into the pandemic, treating family medicine patients in the Central Valley when telehealth services had been launched at every health center.
“One of the first things I realized is how much a lot of the care and counseling we do can be accomplished over the phone,” she said. “This has been a huge help for so many patients who are simply unable to come in to health centers because they don’t have enough time over their break at work or can’t pull their kids out of school for a half-day to bring them in.”
Dr. H. said that a lot of the “motivational interviewing” she does with patients on the phone has resulted in them lowering their blood pressure, losing weight, or effectively managing other chronic health problems.
“I ask patients questions about what their health goals are and how we can come up with a plan to achieve those goals, whether it’s smoking cessation, or losing weight, or managing blood sugar levels,” she said. “We assess what motivates them, which allows people to come up their own ideas for self-care management. I can also do medication management over the phone.
“It’s exciting to teach people how to be in control of their own health in the way that will be best for them. And we see great results!”
Tags: telehealth, family_medicine