Telemedicine at the threshold of new relationalities and old residues: a case study

Abstract

The evolution and adoption of information and communication technologies have brought about significant changes in the way we perceive and relate to the world around us. These technologies have facilitated instant communication across distances and stretched our perceptual frontiers well beyond the constraints of physical space. In this study, we are exploring the influence of one of these technologies, telemedicine, on the human experience, a technology that has become particularly relevant amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, our study centers on patient-physician interactions through telemedicine during the pandemic in Turkey, with a sample of 30 patients who received consultations from the same pulmonologist. Our research highlights the need to consider the social and technical elements that construct technology to fully understand the impact of technological transformations on the human experience. Through our case study on telemedicine, we argue that this technology leads to a reframing of patients' perception of space, which in turn shapes a different mode of being for them in patient-physician interactions mediated by this very artifact. Furthermore, our emphasis on the relational aspect of technology underscores the idea that technology not only constructs new modes of relationships but also embodies the context in which it operates. In particular, our case study on telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey highlights how this technology embodies a neoliberal socio-political framework from its inception and how, in turn, this leads to the construction of various forms of neoliberal participation, such as access to and use of this technology in the relations it facilitates. Consequently, our research highlights the interconnectedness of technology by examining the impact of telemedicine on patient-physician interaction in a given context.