THERAPY VIA TELEMEDICINE MAY HELP CROHN’S PATIENTS
THERAPY VIA TELEMEDICINE MAY HELP CROHN’S PATIENTS
A recent study out of Israel was presented at the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation in February demonstrating the benefits of online care.
As covered in Gastroenterology and Endoscopy News, “for patients with Crohn’s disease, teaching mindfulness and meditation through online video chats can reduce stress and improve quality of life.”
“Many patients report that stress is a trigger for them for flares,” said Doron Schwartz, MD, the head of the risk management unit and of the IBD clinic in the Department of Gastroenterology at Soroka Medical Center, who led the team. “We are trying to intervene in the early stage where you feel the stress and to stop this vicious cycle where stress increases disease activity and disease activity increases the stress, and so on.”
Patients who underwent eight weekly Skype video chats demonstrated greater improvements in physical health factors, improvement in mental health factors, as well as less impairment in work and daily activity, as compared to matched controls.
“Telehealth interventions…have the potential to be effective, low-cost approaches to treating at least some people with inflammatory bowel disease, Dr. Schwartz said.”
At Comprehensive Gastrointestinal Health, we could not agree more with these findings. Our holistic approach to IBD has always included recommendations to work with our wonderful counselor, Jed Foster, on coping mechanisms, stress management, including techniques for mindfulness and meditation. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, we know stress levels are running high and we are really motivated to keep our IBD patients healthy, off steroids, and out of the hospitals and immediate care centers. Let us help to support you!
Our team of providers, including a gastroenterologist, nurse practitioner, dietitian, and counselor, are all available via TELEMEDICINE to help care for you and your IBD. Please call 224.407.4400 or visit compgihealth.com for more information. We are eager to help in any way we can!