There is an incredibly high demand for collaboration during medical procedures – whether it’s a Cardiologist advising a junior physician on a complex procedure, a renowned surgeon training other colleagues on a technique, a medical device company rolling out a new product, or a medical device rep providing product support during surgery.

There’s no question that collaboration is critical to developing techniques and products for the advancement of medicine, and in fact, doctors have come to rely on in-person collaboration, especially as medical devices become more complex. 

Telemedicine in the Operating Room

The use of procedural telemedicine has soared since the start of the pandemic and it’s no surprise that demand for operating room solutions has increased. We are starting to see leaders embrace this shift, including the CEO of one of the world’s leading medical device manufacturers who said, ‘the new normal is exciting,’ adding that ‘anything that can be done remotely and virtual is preferred.’

Since the start of the pandemic, Telemedicine solution has been used by multiple specialties in an increasing number of procedures. Case examples include:

• A medical device rep was able to provide technical support for a last-minute emergency aortic dissection procedure in a situation where the rep wouldn’t have made it to the hospital in time to support physically in-person.
• Medical device training programs provided for physicians, medical students, and other industry reps streamed live from an orthopedic cadaver lab.

For too long, medical information sharing, and collaboration have depended on in-person communication. Just as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to rethink nearly all aspects of our daily life, so too has it caused us to rethink how we deliver healthcare.

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