The Virtual Appointment: Telemedicine and Multiple Sclerosis

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, telemedicine has rapidly become the new standard for patients to communicate with their neurologists. Video conferences on smartphones, tablets, and laptops have… for now at least… replaced almost all appointments that used to be done in person. Dr. Stephen Krieger from New York City and Dr. Annette Okai from Dallas discuss their early insights to advantages and disadvantages of the new virtual appointments for their patients with multiple sclerosis. Tips to navigate the technology and improve your virtual visit shared. These MS experts share their advice on whether you should have a virtual appointment now or wait for an in-office appointment. The neurologists also speculate on the future of telemedicine. Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, interviews: Annette Okai, MD is a MS specialist and Medical Director of the Baylor Scott & White Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center in Dallas, Texas. She completed her residency in Neurology in 2006 and fellowship in Neuroimmunology in 2008. Dr. Okai interests include studying multiple sclerosis in diverse populations and the utilization of conventional and novel MRI techniques in multiple sclerosis. Stephen Krieger, MD is a MS specialist at the Corrinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for MS at Mount Sinai in New York. He is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Neurology Residency Training Program. He created a topographical model to better understand MS disease course that has been adopted globally. Visit mslivingwell.org for more information. Share your MS story on ICanWithMS.org