Virtual Medical Care
July 2, 2009 by Cherie Burbach
Filed under Women's Health
What if you could send your doctor an email and get a diagnosis? Would it prevent you from going on to the office? For some patients, communicating online is the next best thing to being there. Surprisingly, more and more doctors are getting involved with their patients via email or a website.
One source says “39% of doctors said they’d communicated with patients online, up from just 16% five years earlier.” While people usually log on to pay bills or schedule appointments, a few are able to avoid going in for an appointment because they can talk to their doctor online.
I can see this working for certain patients that the doctor has a long-time relationship with. I often call my doctor for some usual symptoms that I get. I’m able to do this, however, because I’ve been seeing one doctor for a few decades and he is very familiar with my medical care. If I was a new patient, I wouldn’t expect to have the same kind of conveniences available to me.
Do you currently use an online method to communicate with your doctor?
Image: sxc.hu.
I did this once for a new doctor and got my initial office apt moved up by several months! The people who make appointments don’t know everything. If the doc has an email address, try it!