Online visits

Not a good idea.
There is no substitute for a face-to-face encounter, period.
Any insurance company jumping on board with reimbursing for on line visits is doing it for one reason only: they think it is going to save them money.

Just like radiologists endorsing teleradiology, any doctor endorsing online visits will eventually be replaced by a cheaper, but licensed, doctor oversees.

If the insurance companies are so interested in access and convenience, why don’t they reimburse telephone calls?

By the way, there is a role for online consultations, but only in remote areas, i.e. Alaska, where true access is not possible.

Over the years, I’ve heard others curse the first doctor who decided to accept HMO payments; afterall, if that doctor said no, the movement would have died. But because that doctor started, all the others had to follow suit and where are we today?

Therefore, I implore you-DON’T START! As the great philosopher Nacy Reagan said, “Just say no!”

Underpaid in New York

102 fever, went online, filled out a form, and was diagnosed with a “bacterial infection?” Just what bacterial infection was diagnosed with confidence with no physical exam? Maybe sinusitis, but that’s it.