Fighting a massive snowstorm to get to the doctor in the Dakotas is an unpleasant business. So is driving hours to see one of the two or three obstetricians in northern Minnesota. But Dave Newman, chief medical officer of virtual care at Sanford Health, is counting on technology to change that.
Last year, a STAT documentary highlighted how Sanford, a large rural health system serving North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, is using telehealth to reach more patients than ever before. The health system is now getting ready to open up a new brick-and-mortar building that will house its virtual care offerings.
“When I went to medical school … I learned how to see patients at the bedside, so I was taught bedside manner,” said Newman. “I was never taught webside manner — how to perform a virtual visit.”
