Wondering how doctors are able to treat patients online or how it all works? What part of healthcare are people doing online? Does it work or is it a waste of time if you have to be seen in person anyway?
We’ve invited Dr. Danna Chung, Virtual Medical Director at Crossover, to chat with Dan about getting the most you can out of healthcare in the hybrid world we live in—both in-person and virtually. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, “it’s not one size fits all.”
Danna gets us to think about what goes on in the exam room (after you finally get the appointment, drive there, and wait for the doctor). Hybrid care gets rid of the waste, gets patients engaged on their own time (and from their living rooms), and gets a deeper ongoing relationship with a care team. There’s really no excuse any more to not “go to the doctor.” (Psst, got a quick or embarrassing question that wouldn’t usually warrant a trip to the doctor?)
Stick to the end to find out what (funny) podcasts Danna’s listening to, her guilty pleasure (admit it, we all do this!), and how she’s been sneaking in an extra supplement in her coffee on the advice from the health coach on her team (clever!).
Connect with us!
Wondering how doctors are able to treat patients online or how it all works? What part of healthcare are people doing online? Does it work or is it a waste of time if you have to be seen in person anyway?
We’ve invited Dr. Danna Chung, Virtual Medical Director at Crossover, to chat with Dan about getting the most you can out of healthcare in the hybrid world we live in—both in-person and virtually. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, “it’s not one size fits all.”
Danna gets us to think about what goes on in the exam room (after you finally get the appointment, drive there, and wait for the doctor). Hybrid care gets rid of the waste, gets patients engaged on their own time (and from their living rooms), and gets a deeper ongoing relationship with a care team. There’s really no excuse any more to not “go to the doctor.” (Psst, got a quick or embarrassing question that wouldn’t usually warrant a trip to the doctor?)
Stick to the end to find out what (funny) podcasts Danna’s listening to, her guilty pleasure (admit it, we all do this!), and how she’s been sneaking in an extra supplement in her coffee on the advice from the health coach on her team (clever!).
Connect with us!
What I've learned is that there isn't one size fits all. So you've kind of learned to meet the member where they're at.
Crossover Health:happiness, success, freedom, energy, fun, balance, strength, peace. It all stems from our physical and emotional well being. You're in the right place for a healthy discussion with experts to show you the way. This is B Well, a podcast from crossover health. Not sick is not enough. Being Well is a movement to get the most we want out of life. In each of our episodes, we pick a health or lifestyle topic, bring in one of our doctors from the frontlines and have a real conversation. Be well do good. Enjoy life. What's up everyone, this is Dan Lord, Program Director for crossover health. You're in the right place for a healthy discussion. Just a reminder, the following presentation is for informational purposes only and is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Please do not apply any of this information without first speaking with your doctor. Today we are going to be talking with Donna Chung MD. She is our virtual medical director at crossover board certified in internal medicine, allergy immunology and integrative holistic medicine. She joined crossover health in 2019 has been working in telehealth for the past seven years. She also has a clinical assistant professor appointment at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Donna, so great to have you on the show. How's it going?
Unknown:It's going great. Thanks for having me.
Crossover Health:I'd love for you to tell us a little bit more about your practice that crossover.
Unknown:Sure. So we have the virtual platform here at crossover where I oversee a group of providers, we have primary care physicians, mental health psychologist, physical therapists, health coaches and care navigators. And so we are available across all 50 states to be able to provide virtual care.
Crossover Health:You know, we wanted to dive in to the virtual topic a little bit more today. And talk about kind of the unique tool that is in the toolbox for a physician or a medical group and specifically COVID really changed the game, right? How do you think that impacted the practice of medicine? Yeah, no.
Unknown:So when I started practicing, virtually almost a decade ago, it was still kind of novel. So patients and providers were wary of how can you actually do this without being in the same room. But with COVID, we didn't really have a choice, right? The world was forced into this space last year, because the traditional brick and mortar offices weren't available. And so both patients and providers got to experience what it's like to have a video visit or messaging consultation, and then recognize this actually can be an efficient, effective way to get or give medical care. So now that healthcare settings are starting to transition back, which is a good thing, there are however, a lot of patients who don't necessarily want to go back because they got a taste of the benefits of virtual care.
Crossover Health:It's interesting, because if I'm thinking of our members or patients, they think of the relationship as hey, I need to meet the person, you know, eye to eye and shake their hand. And I hear you talking about it's actually a removing a barrier from having a relationship, right.
Unknown:Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I been doing this for a long time. And actually, what's surprising to me is the depth of the physician patient relationship, that's possible virtually. But it, I guess it shouldn't necessarily being surprising, because the concept of getting to know someone online isn't new, we've all kind of adapted to that. But it feels novel in the healthcare setting. And the thing that I've learned in the virtual space is that I have the benefit of time. So I actually can get to know my patients. So they don't necessarily have a waiting room filled with patients who are on a schedule I need to get in. So I can take that detailed history. And then after the visit, I can also check in frequently because it's so easy to access the patients and vice versa.
Crossover Health:Right, you can solve problems like we do in other spaces, through text message or conversations makes sense.
Unknown:Exactly. Yeah. I mean, I think the the office setting is a great space for patients, but it's it's confined because it's a brick and mortar location. So you know, has to be when it's accommodating for the patient to be able to get into the office, it has to be with the doctor's office hours. And so if you have this virtually a lot of that is removed.
Crossover Health:But done. You can't lay your hands on them. Yeah, that's what I hear people say. What is your response to that? Like, you can't touch the patient. How do you How can you help them? Yep.
Unknown:So you know, can I be physically hands on virtually no, but I can be hands on in the way that I'm coordinating York. care every step of the way, either under my direct care or whether I have to refer you to an in person location, depending on the severity of the situation. But, you know, I think the way that we've developed this platform and care model, you can access us in a timely fashion, versus having to schedule like far out in advance and have hands on care, because we're able to do so much virtually without actually having to literally put our hands on,
Crossover Health:right. So Donna, what can you do virtually as a provider,
Unknown:we can do a lot virtually when we take the time to ask detailed questions. So we can ask for uploaded photos of your rash, or get on a video call to watch what motions bother you, when you move your shoulder, we can go ahead and prescribe medications or we can order labs or tests crossover has the benefit also of having our providers licensed across the United States. And so even when you travel, we can still provide care because we aren't limited by the constraints of state licensure.
Crossover Health:So as a as a patient, if I needed a lab or a procedure, you guys are still prescribing that making sure it happens and following up.
Unknown:That's right. So, you know, we obviously can't draw your blood through the computer, but we can go ahead and refer you to either a crossover location where they can draw the labs or a local lab facility.
Crossover Health:Do you feel that people are comfortable asking questions that are sensitive in the same way as if you were in a room? With them? Do you feel like that the same level of depth happens in the virtual space as it does in person space?
Unknown:Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, what I've learned is that there isn't one size fits all. So there are some members who prefer to just message back and forth, never see your face on a video per se. Others who actually do want to talk on the phone or video. And then even some people if it's just for counseling, they want to see you in person. That's what they need. And so I think you've kind of learned to meet the member where they're at. One of the things, though, that you just referred to is that in virtual in Capture care in a way that sometimes you wouldn't have in the brick and mortar clinic. So sometimes members are embarrassed to sit face to face and ask you questions about their mood, if it's a sensitive issue, like erectile dysfunction, maybe a possible sexually transmitted disease. So messaging allows you to have that conversation without some of the awkwardness that maybe it's stopping the member from opening up.
Crossover Health:The other angle that that I see, too is people usually wait until the last minute, or until they have to go and make an appointment. Have you experienced people reaching out sooner to deal with issues before they become, you know, much worse? Yep.
Unknown:Yeah. Because it the access is so easy here. You know, it, it promotes you being able to seek care earlier, because you don't have to wait and see if it becomes bad enough to go see the doctor, right. So you can just ask whether, is it something that I have to be concerned about? Should I monitor? Is there a treatment, and then we can actually tackle this at the beginning of your symptoms, and then save yourself some anxiety along the way. The other thing too, is that we're able to assist you with a question that you wouldn't necessarily wait to schedule doctor's office with, you wouldn't. You know, I just had a member who reached out asking whether it matters when you tie in your COVID booster and the flu shot. And so I was able to provide the latest recommendations and tailor something for what his needs were the member doesn't have to search online for non personalized medical advice. Because you can just easily direct your question to your primary care team who knows your history and then provide a tailored response.
Crossover Health:Instead of Dr. Google, you can actually talk to a real doctor. Right. And that's, that's unique. I think it might prevent them from action. And now you can answer them in an educated way. That's not just, you know, going down the rabbit hole online. So I think that's a really important.
Unknown:Yeah. And I think just the way that these online medical resources are, they have to be comprehensive and provide all of the possibilities. And so everyone always thinks it's the worst case scenario. And we're able to actually guide what the possible differential, you know, diagnosis might be based on what you have, and not just this general bucket.
Crossover Health:Yep, that's great, because you can only impact people in an in person environment for that visit. But healthcare happens all day long all the time. And so to be able to connect with people in that way, I think, in my opinion, is so much more impactful. I'd love to hear though your thoughts on in person care versus virtual care. Is virtual care a replacement for in person
Unknown:care? No, I mean, I think the thing is that not I mean, everything cannot be done virtually. There are obviously things that you can't do through your computer screen. I can't I stitch you up if you have a laceration, but I have plenty of members who have written me and asked, you know, show me a photo and said, Does this need stitches, and so I can determine what's needed and then direct you to where to go. You know, if there's something that's concerning that I think that perhaps you have stomach pain that needs to be an in person exam, then I can help direct you on whether or not this is something that you can wait to be seen? Or do you have to walk in that day to an urgent care facility? Or actually, is this a medical emergency, and you need to go to the ER, because this might be appendicitis?
Crossover Health:Exactly. And maybe speak to our medical group, right? We have brick and mortar health centers. And so we can we can deploy this hybrid approach. And right, use that the right tool at the right time, so to speak. You know, how does that impact you as a provider versus if you're just a telehealth come? Sure,
Unknown:yeah. So I mean, if you live near one of our crossover locations, then we have the luxury of being able to refer you there. So that they're really an extension of our care. But if you live elsewhere, then we also have our care navigators who can help find you, you know, Application for you to go, whether it's an urgent care specialist, either way, we make sure that we know what happened whenever we send you to that in person location, so that we can follow up on your care after you complete that visit. So even if you start online and end up in person, we have you follow up virtually, so we can continue to be hands on in your care.
Crossover Health:So So Donna, you have a variety of modalities that you can access to help solve a patient's problem. Yep.
Unknown:So in addition to the fact that, you know, you can message us you can, we can hop on the phone, do a video, we also have this whole care team. So we've been at the forefront, you know, crossover has been at the forefront of this integrated care model. So again, like I mentioned, our teams are composed of primary care physicians, mental health psychologists, physical therapists, health coaches, and care navigators. And so we all work together to make sure that the members whole self is being taken care of. So an example, let's say you have back pain, so I could actually evaluate to make sure that there isn't a red flag that needs an immediate treatment. But I can also then loop in the physical therapist to help with exercises and stretches and maybe the ergonomics that we mentioned before, perhaps during this evaluation, we see that maybe your mood is kind of affecting your health and perhaps Manifesting with back pain. So we can loop in the psychologists to reach out to you and help you get started on trying to work on your mood. And or let's say that the weight is perhaps contributing to your back pain, then the health coach could be looped in and advise you on your diet. We don't want to have all of our different services siloed, we all work together to try to be able to promote the health and well being of the member.
Crossover Health:That's awesome. So really cool, you start online, you can you can end in person. But then people follow up online, too, right? Like there's a more of a continuum now.
Unknown:Yeah, I think that that's the key here is right that it doesn't, it's not a transactional experience, where you have a visit, and then at the end of the visit, you have to make another visit to actually continue on with the experience, we try to follow up with you along the way. So that we're on top of what's going on, we can make sure that whatever issue you had is truly resolved. Or if there's other questions that come up, we want to be there as a resource. So you will have this ongoing virtual experience, even if you do need to kind of sometimes go in and be seen.
Crossover Health:Exactly, exactly. And and hopefully that again, going back to the relationship, but actually removes barriers for you to have this interesting relationship that's differentiated. That's really cool.
Unknown:Yeah, and the other thing, too, is particularly with the messaging, because of the fact that it's what we call asynchronous, so it's back and forth, but not simultaneous is that you have the advantage of time. So I can send you questions and you can actually take the time to compose your responses, but you can also wait for the benefit of time to, you know, send them so it allows for a different type of convenience, but also effectiveness with care as well.
Crossover Health:That's awesome. I love that. So cool. So our listeners would like to get to know you a little bit better. So I'm hoping it would be okay if you jumped on the hot seat and I fired some some questions at you. Okay, that'd be okay. That's good. All right. Are you ready? Yeah. So what is your favorite podcast at the moment?
Unknown:Well, I I am listening to the crossover B while podcast but I think for some levity. I do like listening to Conan O'Brien is podcast and and armchair expert as well.
Crossover Health:I like armchair expert as well. Dax is a really funny guy. Yeah. So What's your guilty pleasure?
Unknown:So if I'm honest, I will have to say I definitely go down the YouTube rabbit hole. So that's probably that's probably my biggest guilty pleasure these days.
Crossover Health:Any any topics that you would like to share?
Unknown:I think I just hear one thing and then all of a sudden, it just kind of spirals out of control.
Crossover Health:It's easy, it's easy to do. And like all sudden, there's two hours have gone by and you're in the YouTube echo chamber. It's really funny Exactly. What's one thing that you do every day to stay healthy.
Unknown:So I actually just started adding a scoop of collagen powder to my coffee, which was the recommendation of the health coach on our team. And, but I will say that my first attempt was adding a scoop of collagen powder to my Coke Zero, which I would not recommend because that caused a little bit of a volcanic explosion on my kitchen counter so as to be a non carbonated beverage, but we'll see how it goes.
Crossover Health:Very good. Well, so appreciate you coming on the show today. It's so nice to talk to you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Anyone 18 or over in the United States can be a crossover health member. At crossover, you stay connected to a care team that works together and gets to know you over time. A doctor, a nurse, a mental health expert, a physical therapist, a chiropractor, a health coach, a fitness coach and a care navigator. Go to crossover health.com to join the healthcare revolution. If you like our podcast, please follow or subscribe and leave a review. If you have a topic you want us to explore. Let us know on Facebook or Instagram at crossover health. Until next time, be well