JGIM: Searching for Human Connectedness During COVID-19

In a recent perspective in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Dr. Margaret McNairy recounts how digital technology has reestablished some of the human connectedness lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. McNairy is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and has been on the frontlines of COVID-19 response at NYP/Weill Cornell Medicine. 

Dr. McNairy outlines how fundamentally the bedside experience has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. No longer are patients seen by rounding teams and given ample opportunity to discuss their concerns but are instead seen by single doctor covered head to toe in personal protective equipment (PPE) once a day for just a few minutes. Patients’ visitors are not allowed.  However, the generous donation of almost a thousand iPads has had a transformative impact on the patient experience. Patients can now connect to their loved ones who cannot visit in person, and doctors can check in with their patients throughout the day to discuss their care plan without having to don PPE. 

“Tablets by no means replace human touch. Yet in the alternate universe that has become the day-to-day practice of medicine during COVID-19, they have restored some of the humanism otherwise lost.”

Read the full article here: ‘Searching for Human Connectedness During COVID-19’