I’m curious - What would it look like if you were accustomed to remote communication with your doctor(s) and handled most follow ups that way and then suddenly your doctor says, “You should come chat in person” if you know you have some results pending that could lead to a serious diagnosis? My first thought would be that it’s terrible news, and if that were the case I’d rather rip the band-aid off and just hear it via Skype instead of waiting a week to see the doctor in person. Maybe it’s less personal, but for me it would be less anxiety-inducing and give me a chance to start processing immediately.

That being said - I agree that the empathetic and emotional aspects are lost when communicating remotely. Heck, I already feel that even in a work setting. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like when handling a crisis.