Virtual doctor visits -- the future of American medicine arrives
Filed under: Health
What if you could visit a doctor, any time of day or night, without leaving your home, and that doctor could review your history, diagnose your problem and phone in a prescription? That's the pitch for the cutting edge of insurance-driven health care, the virtual clinic. And this is not pie-in-the-sky: The UnitedHealth Group in Texas offers its NowClinic virtual visits to anyone in the state for $45. Play the Take a tour video to see your health care future unfold.
The software running the Texas program is provided by American Well. The system has much to recommend it. You the patient can log in, choose the physician you would like to see from those available, and have an immediate real-time conversation, including (and this seems crucial to me) video conferencing, if you are so equipped.
If the Obama administration's initiative to move medical record-keeping online is successful, these doctors could also access your medical history to aid them in diagnosis. The physicians can write virtual prescriptions and phone them in to the pharmacy of your choice.
I'm guessing that public opinion will be sharply divided on this idea. People who feel hands-on care is worth the inconvenience of travel and prescheduling will be very troubled by the prospect that they could eventually be forced into using a virtual clinic. (I'm still not happy about how my health care provider has forced me to abandon my local pharmacy in favor of mailing for my meds, by invoking a large out-of-pocket price difference.)
For many rural residents, however, for whom medical care is a long distance and time away, this could be a useful tool. It could also be a useful intermediary step for those wondering if a doctor's office visit is warranted.
What's your opinion? Would you be willing to pay an online virtual visit to the doctor?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-23-2009 @ 7:42AM
Cyia said...
There is already a site which uses doctors in residency to help diagnose symptoms over the web (www.freemd.com). I used them about 2 months ago. You actually pay them after they answer your questions--or not, if you feel that they did not answer your questions. However, they advised me they do not write prescriptions over the web--not even for a common, non-narcotic prescription drug, since this is currently illegal in the U.S. They also advised me to see my regular doctor for a further consultation, so they don't take the place of a primary care physician. For someone without health insurance or if you're in a pinch, they are very helpful and informative.
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12-23-2009 @ 11:37AM
Stephen Schimpff, MD said...
I think it is reasonable to predict that we will use more and more “eMedicine” approaches in the coming years. Right now most physicians avoid using simple email because they don’t get paid for the time and effort. But this will change in time. There will be email visits, telediagnosis devices at home [such as blood pressure monitors, blood sugar monitors and weight all sent automatically each day via the internet to your doctor’s office for checking], electronic prescribing [which will eliminate handwriting issues and offer alerts for allergies and for adverse interactions with other drugs you may be taking] with the medications waiting for you when you get to the pharmacy. The technology is available now so the day can not be far off when these approaches will be ubiquitous. Most importantly, they will make medical care better in quality, safer, and offer faster response times rather than waiting for an appointment. If a heart failure patient’s weight is rising, the nurse will call to check and perhaps a change will be made in the medications, avoiding not only a later doctor visit but even an ER trip or a hospitalization. This is better care and it saves a lot of money as well. The virtual clinic described in the blog could just as well be an encounter with your own doctor tomorrow via Skype or similar. It will assist “consumerism” be come an important element in medical care in the future. More at http://medicalmegatrends.blogspot.com
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