BUSINESSFirm pushes online medicine to new levelAn Internet startup claims it is the first company to diagnose and treat common conditions, sight unseen.By Tyler Chin, amednews staff. April 15, 2002. The concept of doctors diagnosing and treating people online -- people they've never seen -- is trying to go legit. Well aware of the reputation of online treatments as fronts for prescribing so-called lifestyle drugs, and aware of organized medicine's distaste for the concept, Indianapolis-based MyDoc.com is opening up for business and hoping for acceptance from patients, physicians and businesses, which are the focus of an advertising campaign that encourages MyDoc.com as an employee benefit. The Internet startup, owned by Roche Diagnostics of Indianapolis, targets busy professionals and their family members who have acute but minor conditions and who don't want to miss work or take the time for an office visit because they have had the problem before and think they recognize their symptoms, said Jane Pickett, MyDoc.com's vice president of sales and marketing. Using the MyDoc.com Web site (http://www.mydoc.com), consumers can get a diagnosis and treatment recommendation within 15 to 20 minutes instead of the three to four hours an office visit typically involves, she said. The 24-hour service costs $39.95 for one visit. A one-year subscription is $15 a month and covers six online consultations (which figures out to $30 each); additional consultations are $19.95 each. MyDoc.com hires only board-certified primary care physicians, paying them between $45 and $65 per hour on average, Pickett said. So far, the service has rolled out only in Indiana and Illinois, but more states will be added, she said. A doctor can consult with a patient only if he or she is from the same state.
Consumers visiting MyDoc.com can get a diagnosis and care plan within 15-20 minutes.
Doctors work shifts ranging from two to 12 hours out of their home or office. The company pays for computers and high-speed Internet access if doctors don't have those things already. Roger Spahr, MD, a family physician in a four-doctor group in Indianapolis, was skeptical when the chief medical officer of MyDoc.com approached him about diagnosing and treating unseen people online. "When he first called me, I said, 'Gee, I don't know how this would work. I have a lot of misgivings about it regarding how effective it can be treating patients.' But I was open-minded [enough] about it to go ahead and have a meeting with him." Dr. Spahr ultimately signed up with MyDoc.com because he was impressed by its business approach, technology and the physicians it was recruiting. The opportunity to "help shape and direct new technology" also influenced his decision. "You know how sometimes an idea hits you as being, 'Oh, that could be OK, but yet it's fraught with so many issues, etc.?' And as you investigate and do due diligence, then it becomes a good idea with caveats? This is kind of what this is," Dr. Spahr said. MyDoc.com uses software that many telephone-based nurse call centers around the country have used for years. When patients go online, they answer questions about their symptoms. Each answer generates a specific set of questions. After the questionnaire is completed, the software generates an assessment that is reviewed by a physician. If a case appears to be serious, the system immediately tells the patient to seek emergency care.
Consumers answer questions about their symptoms and software generates an assessment.
Doctors employed by MyDoc.com prescribe medications, but not narcotics and not lifestyle drugs such as for erectile dysfunction, weight loss or baldness. At this time, patients only know the name of the treating physician if they opt for an online chat with the doctor (which can result in additional charges) or if a prescription is written. But MyDoc.com expects to name all its doctors on its site in May or June, said Dean Wochner, MD, the company's chief medical officer. "We have taken pains to be sure that anybody -- those who need to know what we're doing and what we're not doing -- know that we are an operation that's focused and based on quality," Dr. Wochner said. Whether those steps will be enough for the company to gain acceptance remains to be seen. The AMA does not comment on specific companies. But in general, AMA policy states that online treatment, diagnosis and prescribing can be done only when appropriate safeguards are in place "to ensure that the standards of high quality medical care are fulfilled," said AMA Secretary-Treasurer Donald Palmisano, MD. These include having an established patient-physician relationship, taking a history and doing a physical examination. Online links between doctors and patients are offered by several other companies, including Healinx Corp., First Health Group Corp., MyDocOnline Inc. and Medem Inc., which is partly owned by the AMA. But these services require an existing patient-physician relationship -- each is required to register on the site before any communication can take place. The Indiana State Medical Assn. has asked one of its committees to meet with MyDoc.com to learn more about it and report back to its board of trustees, a spokeswoman said. The two entities are trying to schedule a meeting in May. Finding local supportIn a further effort to gain legitimacy, Mydoc.com is partnering with local hospitals in marketing and recruiting efforts. In Indianapolis, for example, Mydoc.com has a partnership with Community Health Network, a four-hospital system. Community has helped MyDoc.com recruit doctors and it is allowing the company to use the hospital system's logo in its promotional materials. Community partnered with MyDoc.com because it is interested in seeing how telemedicine, telecommunications and other technologies can be used to deliver care, said Glenn Bingle, MD, senior vice president for medical affairs. The two entities do not have a financial relationship, he said. Roche Diagnostics founded MyDoc.com last year out of an initiative to identify new business opportunities, Pickett said. Roche Diagnostics is a division of F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., the global pharmaceutical, diagnostics and vitamin company in Switzerland. MyDoc.com doesn't have its own formulary because that is a function of an employer, Dr. Wochner said. The company can accommodate employers' formularies; does not give preferential treatment to Roche products; and, as a rule, prescribes generics rather than brand-name drugs, he said. The company believes that its doctors' existing liability insurance covers the potential risk that could arise from online consultations, said Dr. Wochner. So far, none of its doctors have had to buy additional coverage, though that could change as the company enters new markets. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:The big sevenCommon conditions that MyDoc.com is treating and diagnosing online:
Breaking new groundMyDoc.com says it differs in many respects from other companies offering online consultations because it:
Copyright 2002 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
|
Featured stories     
« Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
Next »
Current topicsMost-viewed
This weekUnspent war funds eyed to avoid years of Medicare doctor pay cuts Rite Aid clinics place new twist on "doc-in-a-box" Get our email alertsUse our one-step registration. Learn more Your information will not be shared. Privacy policyColumns and series
From the vaultQuotable"Our goal really is to provide the right care for patients at the right time. Not too much and not too little." Steven Weinberger, MD, co-author of a list developed by the American College of Physicians of 37 clinical situations in which screenings and medical tests provide little or no benefit |
|||||||||
SHARE
