Leave a Trail—You Are Not Lost

These past several days, the United Kingdom, The Commonwealth, and most of the world have celebrated the life of Queen Elizabeth II. As the longest serving monarch in British history, she saw amazing changes throughout her life as the world transformed into what is today. Her generation is slowly ebbing into history and with it, amazing stories of challenge, perseverance, discovery, sorrow, and joy. She herself blazed a new trail for women, culture, and led her nation in ways that we could not have imagined at the beginning of her reign in 1952. She and her generation witnessed the most significant changes in human history. She blazed her own path!

This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” provides context in our journeys.¹ We each embark on a journey early in life. Most of the time it is our choice, which career path to follow, which university or trade school to attend, where to live, etc. Some do not have a choice and they may be those who inspire us the most. Queen Elizabeth was that kind of presence.

If we go off the beaten path, in other words make a new path, we explore and discover new things. In a literal walk in the forest, it might be a new plant or insect, in the laboratory it might be a new discovery, and it might even be through conversation or perhaps a guest lecture that changes our course! The point here is that if we stay on a prescribed path, the outcome will be something—which is not all that bad. But if we forge a new path and make a discovery, that changes the outcome—which can and should be a good thing.

If the outcome of this new discovery is beneficial to society, then we must leave a trail for others to follow. We will not be lost! In a CITI Bank commercial, actor/comedian Daniel Levy says “….ok, I’m not lost, I’m exploring… that said, do you know where I am,” the part about not being lost but exploring is key to change.²

In our discipline of telemedicine and telehealth, we have been forging new pathways for care delivery and education. The pandemic was an obvious catalyst. But many of the discoveries and innovations have helped shape new trails. There are those who never change, they are too cautious and not adventurous and there are those who are way too daring and perhaps a bit reckless. Most of us are in the middle somewhere. For most of the 20th century, perhaps most of this Elizabethan era, humanity has pushed the limits of its ability because there were those of us who went off the beaten path and established new trails, new discoveries, and new approaches.

There are those in every organization in the world who will place gauntlets in our path. Some will stop and not move forward, and some will find a way around the gauntlet. In Vermont, there is road that passes through large rock formations known as Smugglers Notch Scenic Highway—route VT108. This road is impassable to large vehicles but the road was developed with rock formations anyway. A pathway was made for commerce, travel, and convenience.

Telemedicine and telehealth are also developed to support commerce, convenience, rapid access to care, etc. These pathways are now adequately marked, but if we do not make new trails, we will not change as often. As Queen Elizabeth’s first prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill so eloquently quipped in 1925 “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”³ It is our destiny to forge ahead and create new opportunities, to shepherd humankind into a new paradigm where access to care is easy, dependable, and of high quality for all.

News from the Publisher

The Liebert family of journals, which this journal is part of, partnered with the Rosalind Franklin Society (RFS) to establish the RFS Awards for Science. This award underscores and recognizes women in science and under-represented minorities in each of Liebert’s 100 scientific journals. The Telemedicine and e-Health nominee and awardee is Laurie Archbald-Pannone, MD, MPH, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Dr. Karen Rheuban and I nominated Dr. Archbald-Pannone for her work in our field and her publication on COVID-19.⁴ The collection of awardees can be found in a published book.⁵

What Is in This Issue

This issue comprises an outstanding collection of articles from Australia, Israel, Spain, and from across the United States. Eight articles on COVID-19 cover a wide variety of clinical applications, illustrating the utility of telemedicine and telehealth in pandemic.

Enjoy this issue and remember sometime it is better to create new pathways!