Telehealth Best Practices: Dr. Elizabeth Cherot of Axia Women’s Health On How To Best Care For Your Patients When They Are Not Physically In Front Of You
Three words that have a lot of meaning for me are, “Women Deserve More.”
These words make me think of my mom and my daughter. I think of all the patients I have taken care of. I think of the research that isn’t being done with women in mind and the direction that we need to go, and where I hope to lead.
One of the consequences of the pandemic is the dramatic growth of Telehealth and Telemedicine. But how can doctors and providers best care for their patients when they are not physically in front of them? What do doctors wish patients knew in order to make sure they are getting the best results even though they are not actually in the office? How can Telehealth approximate and even improve upon the healthcare that traditional doctors’ visits can provide?
In this interview series, called “Telehealth Best Practices; How To Best Care For Your Patients When They Are Not Physically In Front Of You” we are talking to successful Doctors, Dentists, Psychotherapists, Counselors, and other medical and wellness professionals who share lessons and stories from their experience about the best practices in Telehealth. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Elizabeth Cherot.
Dr. Elizabeth Cherot is an established and highly skilled physician with over 20 years of experience in obstetrics and gynecology. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Cherot completed undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed her residency training in OB/GYN at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.
In addition, she also completed the Executive MBA at Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business in 2016. She has spearheaded several projects, resulting in promoting best practices and implementing progressive change in an OB/GYN practice. Dr. Cherot resides in Central New Jersey with her husband, two children, 3 dogs and 10 chickens. She enjoys gardening, skiing and triathlons.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Growing up, I was raised by my mom and three brothers in Massachusetts and I went to an all-girls school. After graduating high-school, I went on to Johns Hopkins University to complete my undergraduate studies. I received my medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, before eventually going back to Johns Hopkins University to complete my MBA.
I have practiced as an OB/GYN for over 20 years in private practice. I ended up leading my group and eventually becoming the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Axia Women’s Health and subsequently the Chief Medical Officer in 2020.
I began my career thinking that all the decisions that would be of consequence to my patients would be made at the bedside. I now realize that such decisions are just as often made in other settings, often by individuals who have not graduated from medical school. My goal is to become a truly effective physician leader, and my experience thus far has shown me that this must be based on an equal level of comfort in both patient care and business strategy.
My passion is innovation that lowers the cost of care, betters patient outcomes and improves patient experience. I have been very lucky to have had success in this space as a physician leader at Axia Women’s Health. Most recently, I launched a smart phone app to engage patients and introduced a new program known as ERAS to help women recover better after c-section. ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) designed for repeat Caesarean sections decreased opioid usage by 87% and shortened the average length of hospital stay from 3.7 to 2.1 days, while increasing patient engagement.
Luckily, throughout all my endeavors I have had the support of my husband and two kids!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
One of the most memorable moments of my career was delivering triplets vaginally! Triplets are almost always delivered via a planned C-section, so this was a very rare and unforgettable experience.
More recently, I was asked to gather a group of Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) during the pandemic with the goal of sharing best practices and collaborating in the setting of the unknown. As the Zoom opened and cameras came on with ten CMOs from across the country, I was shocked to see I was the only women. In 2020, I was surprised to still be so outnumbered and believe we need to build the pipeline of female leaders in healthcare.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Three words that have a lot of meaning for me are, “Women Deserve More.”
These words make me think of my mom and my daughter. I think of all the patients I have taken care of. I think of the research that isn’t being done with women in mind and the direction that we need to go, and where I hope to lead.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m particularly grateful for my mom. She raised four children while working full-time in the 1970’s, which was not easy to do back then. She taught me to aim high and that education is paramount.
Ok wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The pandemic has changed so many things about the way we behave. One of them of course, is how doctors treat their patients. Many doctors have started treating their patients remotely. Telehealth can of course be very different than working with a patient that is in front of you. This provides great opportunity because it allows more people access to medical professionals, but it can also create unique challenges. To begin, can you articulate for our readers a few of the main benefits of having a patient in front of you?
In the field of obstetrics and gynecology, there are of course certain procedures that still need to be performed in-person particularly for pregnant patients. However, at Axia Women’s Health, we’ve also found a number of ways to replicate that in-office experience through telemedicine and new technologies that enable us to connect with our patients remotely. For example, we’ve recently partnered with NUVO Group to offer the INVU remote pregnancy monitoring platform to our patients.
With this technology, we can produce remote fetal heart rate tracings comparable to in-office cardiotocography (CTG). Expectant mothers wear the INVU sensor band during their virtual visits with our providers. During these visits, a live reading allows the mother to access simplified data and insights via the paired INVU app, while the provider receives fetal and maternal heart rate tracings comparable to the fetal viability checks that normally occur in prenatal visits.
This is a fantastic technology as it provides convenience for expectant mothers with busy schedules and allows our providers to perform remote fetal wellness checks, addressing an acute need to reduce potential exposure to COVID-19.
On the flip side, can you articulate for our readers a few of the main challenges that arise when a patient is not in the same space as the doctor?
The reality is that not all patients have access to the technology needed for telemedicine (i.e., smart phones, laptops, etc.) which has created a divide. Additionally, some patients are not familiar with how to use the technology or may not feel comfortable with being on-camera, which can be a barrier.
Lastly, doctors have had to learn and adapt with this new technology, too. When we launched telemedicine, we did a lot of training for providers to help them feel comfortable using the microphone and camera.
Can you share a few ways that Telehealth can create opportunities or benefits that traditional in-office visits cannot provide? Can you please share a story or give an example?
Through telemedicine, we’re actually able to gain more insight into what is going on in a patient’s life. For example, by seeing them with their family, in their home, we’re able to gather certain details that we couldn’t access in-person when we must limit the number of visitors due to COVID-19.
Telemedicine has also allowed us new ways to involve an expectant mother’s family in her care. It’s been great meeting our patients’ family members over video sessions and seeing their excitement over the new addition to their family!
Let’s zoom in a bit. Many tools have been developed to help facilitate Telehealth. In your personal experiences which tools have been most effective in helping to replicate the benefits of being together in the same space?
Zoom has been an incredible tool for us in connecting with our patients remotely.
If you could design the perfect Telehealth feature or system to help your patients, what would it be?
I would like to design a one-click, free WiFi system, available from anywhere to help make telehealth more convenient and accessible for all patients.
Are there things that you wish patients knew in order to make sure they are getting the best results even though they are not actually in the office?
First off, don’t be afraid to ask questions and speak up. The more you can be involved in the process and understanding potential outcomes, the better informed and empowered you will be.
Overall, we also recommend a few simple tips/tricks when utilizing telemedicine:
Prior to your visit, make sure you sign any necessary consent or “new patient” forms and send those via email to your practice.
Arrive a little early, just in case you need extra time logging in and entering the virtual waiting room.
Make sure you’re in a private place where you’d be comfortable addressing medical information.
Check your internet connection.
Make sure to turn off Bluetooth.
Always make sure your microphone and video are on so your provider can see and hear you.
Please be patient. Sometimes we run a few minutes behind, just like in the office!
The technology is rapidly evolving and new tools like VR, AR, and Mixed Reality are being developed to help bring people together in a shared virtual space. Is there any technology coming down the pipeline that excites you?
Virtual technology has offered new opportunity for training doctors as well as educating patients. The field of wearables is also very exciting, and we’re exploring a number of new technologies in this space.
We’re also further exploring the role of technology for postpartum care. We launched a better way to track a woman’s blood pressure through a smart phone app. The goal with this is to enable better communication between the patient and her provider, better blood pressure control and reduce readmission to the hospital. Ultimately, we hope to better engage patients in their care.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
To learn more about Axia Women’s Health, readers can visit our website: https://axiawh.com/.
They’re also encouraged us to follow us on social media, including:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/axiawh/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axiawomenshealth/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/regional-womens-health-group/
