Stumbled upon this post and video this morning. This is validation of exactly what 1-800MD is doing. Even Mayo Clinic is looking to reduce cost and improve access to care using telemedicine.
Credit to 3GDoctor Blog which is where I found this.
Posts Tagged ‘creative solutions’
Effective eConsultations
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010How Many Things are Wrong with You??
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010How often do you go to the doctor? If you are like me you don’t go often because it is inconvenient and expensive. Health issues tend to pile up. When something comes along for which I really need immediate treatment, I make an appointment and I go. Now, the national average cost for a visit to the doctor’s office is about $65. That, however, does not tell the whole story. If I go in for a sore throat and I am seeking an antibiotic, I also do a “health care dump”. “Doc I have a sore throat, but there is more. My elbow hurts, I have a mole on my arm I would like you to look at, allergy season is coming and I need a new antihistamine, and I am about out of my asthma medication.” My doctor listens intently and taps away on this little electronic note pad. He then diagnoses and prescribes something for each of my illnesses. Each malady is an International Classification of Disease (ICD). Each prescription is a Common Procedural Terminology (CPT). For every CPT, the doctor is reimbursed. So, when I go in for my sore throat which should cost me $65, I walk out of there with a bill for $300! This leads me to my second observation. Insurance co-pays are going away in all but the most “cadillac” of insurance plans. The co-pay will be replaced by higher deductibles. For most people the significance of this is lost, but when you combine the “health care dump” to the end of co-pays, you get a very significant monetary event. Before, I paid $15 to $25 for my co-pay and I could tell the doctor everything that was bothering me. I would do so because it was convenient and because I was making the best use of my co-pay. The insurance company paid the remaining $285 for the CPTs. Now, if I have failed to exceed my deductible, I have to pay the entire $300. It shifts the cost burden away from the insurance company and on to the consumer. In some ways, this is a good thing. It forces the consumer of medical services to shop for a better deal in health care. However, it could mean that I opt not to have the doctor help me with my elbow or take a look at the mole. Maybe I do without the asthma treatment, which, during an asthma attack, can put tremendous strain on my heart. No, the best solution is not to eliminate care, but to find a more cost effective delivery system. Many telemedicine offerings will do the entire “health care dump” for a flat fee. Viva la consumer!!!!
What is Capitation?
Friday, February 19th, 2010In U.S. health services, capitation refers to a fixed “per capita” amount that is paid to a hospital, clinic or doctor for each person served. It is the basis for the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). You collect a flat fee to cover a certain number of lives and you hope that you have collected enough to do the job. In fact, you hope you have collected enough to do the job and still have some left over for profit. I will try to tie all of these health models together in a future blog.
I wrecked my car, can I get it insured?
Thursday, February 18th, 2010No sorry. You have to buy the insurance before the car is wrecked. The same is true for buying homeowners insurance after the fire. The wrecked car and the burnt house have what are called “preexisting conditions”. If the car insurance company agreed to fix uninsured cars after the wreck, they would go broke. Does anyone actually doubt this??? Yet, in Washington, they say health insurers are evil for refusing to insure after the fact for preexisting health issues. The original plan was to have a mandate for all Americans to purchase health insurance. That made sense. There would be no conditions that exist prior to owning health insurance because everyone would already own it. The insurance companies, seeing an opportunity to sell policies to the uninsured signed on. Now, the mandate is either dead, or the penalty too weak to enforce the mandate. So the insurance companies are out and we’re back to, “I wrecked my car, can I get it insured?”
Creative Solutions
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010If companies like Aetna, Humana, United Healthcare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cisco and many more have already stepped up and pledged millions of dollars to advance creative IT healthcare solutions, I would think it is time we listened. With the aging population, fragmented care, a looming primary care physician shortage and a healthcare debate that may never be settled, it will be up to the marketplace to demand change. The most effective solution (a biased opinion no doubt) is to embrace telemedicine in all its forms at all levels. The technology is here and technology is the key. The infrastructure is growing exponentially and the advantages FAR out way any outdated notions about its ability to drive change. We will go kicking and screaming no doubt but we WILL go. The sooner we get on board the better. If you own a company, work in HR or have any say so in the benefits your employees or customers have access to then do your homework. Keep an open mind and realize that we are on the cusp of a changing and far more enlightened and advanced world than we have ever seen. Earth changes, global-warming, global economy… (more…)