Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Virtual Doctor Visits Catch on with Insurers, Employers



By Phil Galewitz

May 8, 2012 8:50AM
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Web and phone-based medical services are taking off, transforming the delivery of health care, giving consumers access to inexpensive, round-the-clock care for routine problems, often without having to leave home. Insurers and employers are pushing telemedicine as a way to make doctor "visits" cheaper and more easily available.

Insurers such as United Healthcare, Aetna and Cigna, and large employers such as General Electric and Delta Air Lines are getting on board, pushing telemedicine as a way to make doctor "visits" cheaper and more easily available. Proponents also see it as an answer to a worsening doctor shortage.

But some physician and consumer groups worry about the trend.

"Getting medical advice over a computer or telephone is appropriate only when patients already know their doctors," said Glen Stream, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "Even for a minor illness, I think people are going to be shortchanged," he said.

Carmen Balber, a spokeswoman for Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, Calif., is concerned that lower co-payments, and other incentives, will spur consumers to see doctors or nurses online just to save money. "People will choose the more economical option, even if it is not the option they want," she said.

Employers, however, say they're getting mostly positive reviews.

"Our employees just love the convenience, the low cost and the efficiency," said Lynn Zonakis, managing director of health strategy and resources at Delta Air Lines, which offers NowClinic to some employees for $10 a consultation.

The global Relevant Products/Services telemedicine business is projected to almost triple to $27.3 billion in 2016, according to a recent report by BBC Research, a Wellesley, Mass., research firm. (continued...)

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