TelaDoc
Situation
One of the tragic flaws of the US Medicaid system is its continued failure to ensure access to quality, affordable care for beneficiaries. This weakness has a profound impact on patient health and safety as well as the overall cost of care. Individuals often seek treatment at expensive settings such as hospital emergency rooms or urgent care centers – further burdening our already overtaxed system.Medicaid recipients often experience extreme, persistent challenges and barriers to care, with long waiting times to see a doctor. This is particularly troublesome in the evenings or on weekends when their PCPs are not readily available to diagnose a condition and prescribe medication, if appropriate.
These circumstances often impede timely medical intervention; sometimes, individuals may ignore symptoms and delay or forego treatment. This can contribute to the deterioration of existing healthcare conditions and often leads to medical complications.
Another pressing issue is the absence of an electronic health record (EHR). The national push for an EHR is well-documented and its benefits are evident.
These are some of the compelling reasons that a group of physicians founded TelaDoc Medical Services. Leveraging simple technology – the telephone – individuals enjoy improved access to quality care, and at lower costs.
Telephone medical consults are now delivered to nearly one million Americans and have the potential for solving some of the most pressing problems facing Medicaid.
Because the telephone is familiar and easy-to-use technology for every consumer, it can be widely utilized without special training or orientation. The telephone is a household or office staple, even in most rural communities. Public telephones or cell phones are usually available, even when a recipient is traveling or in transit – making high quality, consultative medical care always a phone call away. Looking ahead, telephone technology is likely to make telephone consults even easier, as capabilities for taking pictures or recording vital signs bring added dimensions to physician-patient communications.
Solution
TelaDoc is a national network of board-certified, licensed physicians who provide consumer members and dependents age 12+ with affordable, around-the-clock access to telephone medical consults. TelaDoc physicians diagnose medical problems and, when appropriate, prescribe medications for the short term when appropriate (no DEA substances; Rx for 72 hours until patients can connect with their normal PCPs). Members can reach a TelaDoc physician from their home, office, hotel room, or on the road – 24/7/365 – in English and Spanish. The physician who provides the consult is licensed in the state where the patient resides.All TelaDoc consults occur within 3 hours or they are free. TelaDoc is averaging less than an hour response time.
Patients call TelaDoc toll-free at 1.800.TelaDoc (835.2362) or visit www.teladoc.com. TelaDoc’s board-certified physicians address acute, episodic, self-limited and minor illnesses:
- Respiratory Infections
- Gastroenteritis
- Bronchitis
- Urinary Tract Infections
- Sinusitis
- Pharyngitis
- Allergies
A critically important safety feature of TelaDoc is its electronic health record (EMR) system, provided free of charge to all members and physicians. When individuals register for membership in TelaDoc, they provide information that builds their own unique EHR which TelaDoc physicians utilize during medical consultations. This represents a safe alternative to cross coverage and a medical record of the consult, which (if the patient chooses) can be delivered to the PCP. All TelaDoc services maintain patient confidentiality and conform to HIPAA guidelines.
TelaDoc significantly improves access to quality and affordable medical care, with documented value to patients who receive timely diagnoses, advice, and treatment options. Patients also avoid costly, time-consuming trips to the emergency room or urgent care facility.
Physician telephone consults are designed to answer these intense challenges to patient safety and, concurrently, enhance the quality of care. Patients get expert advice and treatment choices – any time, anywhere and for a reasonable fee. As a result, patients do not delay medical intervention and can begin treatment in a timely fashion. At the core of this initiative is improved patient safety.
Better Health Lower Costs
TelaDoc physician telephone consults are a flat fee, not more than $35.00. They have been proven to replace 45 percent of doctor office visits and up to 35 percent of hospital emergency room visits.Average Cost by Place of Service |
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| Place of Service | Average Cost | Total Cost Ranges (Low) | Total Cost Ranges (High) |
| Emergency Room Visit | $1,029 | $361 | $1,262 |
| Urgent Care Visit | $194 | $104 | $235 |
| Source: BlueCross Blue Shield of North Carolina 2007 | |||
