When you're coming down with flu, there are a few items you usually reach for to start feeling better: cough drops, herbal tea, and maybe an over-the-counter medication.
For some people, a smartphone wouldn't top or even come close to that list. However, that may change as health care companies are continuously steering customers toward streaming video apps that connect patients with doctors online.
The shove toward virtual health care develops as many primary doctors are over-booked and patients battle with their own busy schedules. At the same time, insurers and employers finds an opportunity to save money by reducing pricier visits to doctors' offices and urgent care clinics. Outsourcing care is not something new. In rural and hard to reach areas, doctors have long relied on telephone and video connections to consult with specialists far away.
But this year, the American Telemedicine Association industry group is estimating that there will be at least 450,000 patients who will see a doctor over the Internet for basic illnesses like colds, infections or aches and pains. Here are some key questions and answers about these virtual visits:
Q: How do these services work?
- There are a few number of companies that allow consumers to connect to a health care provider through smartphones or other wireless devices. Some of the leading companies are Teladoc, Doctor on Demand, and MDLive. Basically patients are led to a licensed doctor to prescribe and practice medicine in the state they're in.
Q: If this technology isn't new, why am I hearing about it now?
- In past last year, several leading health care companies announced they would start including telemedicine into their offerings. Walgreens is currently rolling out a virtual doctor service in 25 states while, UnitedHealth Group and the Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer Anthem prepare to make telemedicine services available to more than 40 million people by 2016. . Additionally, the programs appeal to consumers and their employers by reducing time lost to traditional doctor appointments.
Dr. Jonah Feldman, a health care delivery specialist at Winthrop University Hospital said that the ability to have a doctor to see you within minutes from your phone is something that people can really value.
