The digital doctor will see you anytime you want. Giving patients more access to health care is one reason Devon Herrick, an analyst with Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis, says doctors need to embrace technology and go online. A center study released Thursday found not only are some doctors answering questions via e-mail, they are also treating patients over the Internet. But online medicine faces a mountain of questions about quality, liability, regulatory control and security before it becomes more accepted, according to a Connecticut-based patient advocate and the executive director of the Fairfield County Medical Association. Herrick, however, expressed confidence in telemedicine’s future and said it could improve access to doctors, a big issue in the U.S. In a 2001 report by the Center for Studying Health System Change, one-third of patients said they had problems seeing their primary care physician, according to Herrick. Studies in subsequent years have shown this is a continuing problem, which is only exacerbated by higher costs and more people who have no health insurance. Herrick said one reason people have access trouble is because doctors’ hours conflict with most people’s work schedules. Services like Texas-based TelaDoc can supplement in-person medical care, he added, and his organization offers employees access to TelaDoc as one of their benefits. The TelaDoc company hires licensed doctors to provide a diagnosis after reviewing a patient’s medical history and talking to him on the telephone. It costs the patient $35 per consult. Herrick said a TelaDoc client has to enter his or her medical record into a database. The service isn’t meant to replace a primary care physician, he said, but it could help someone who is traveling get affordable care without going to an emergency room.
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