MedicineFamily MedicineInternal MedicineClinical MedicinePalliative CarePalliative MedicineCommunication With Healthcare ProvidersCommunication With PatientsHealthcare CommunicationTelemedicineAnchoringAnchoring StrategyCommunication With Healthcare ProfessionalsHealthcare Patient CommunicationMedical EncountersPalliative Care RelationshipPatient-clinician CommunicationPhysician-patient Boundary
In this narrative medicine essay, a palliative medicine physician reflects on what is gained and lost in the turn toward telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic from a cornerstone belief that the in-person encounter is an anchoring condition for the patient-physician relationship.