Choosing an online doctor consultation is an effective method to obtain medical advice from a medical professional without the hassle of traveling to a physical location. It is also easier, less expensive and more private than visiting a traditional doctor’s office.
Time-saving
Using telemedicine technology, a medical professional can examine a patient in their home. This is an affordable alternative to an in-person visit, and is helpful in areas where access to health care is limited. It can also be helpful for people with limited mobility.
Many patients choose to consult an online doctor for a wide variety of reasons, such as saving time and money. In fact, the average doctor visit costs about $120, and it can cost as little as $40.
A doctor can use online consultation technology to provide a diagnosis or to prescribe prescriptions. A virtual doctor uses secure servers to store medical information. Moreover, patients can discuss their health conditions through a video calling platform. This gives patients the opportunity to ask questions, and receive feedback.
One study found that patients experienced a positive relationship with clinical staff during an online consultation. Moreover, patients were more likely to comply with clinical care when they received online consultations.
Less expensive
Whether you’re looking to save money on your health care or you simply want to find the best doctor for you, online doctor consultation services are here to help. Some of these providers may even offer you free consultations. In addition, they may be able to accept your health insurance, health savings account (HSA) funds or flexible spending account (FSA) funds.
While some online doctor services are limited to cash pay services, others offer membership plans or subscriptions. These programs may also offer you discounts and other cost-saving options. The cost of a visit may vary depending on your insurance plan, your insurance provider and your location. A few providers offer phone services as well.
Visiting a doctor is expensive. Your insurance plan may have copays or deductibles and some services may require an appointment. In addition, your doctor may be paying for office assistant salaries, equipment and furnishings. These expenses can add up to more than the cost of a visit.
Easier thanks to technology
Seeing your doctor is no longer a luxury, as technology has democratized medical care in the form of the patient mobile and telemedicine technologies. These technologies are augmented by innovations in healthcare IT like digital medical record keeping and remote diagnostics. It’s not hard to see how the benefits of such technologies can be magnified through the magic of digital transformation. There is a big opportunity for these technologies to flourish, and many a tech start up have jumped the gun. It’s time to make the most of it. For starters, there’s a plethora of ecommerce players. These players will make it easy to shop for medical insurance. And, most importantly, they can help you find the best physician to fit your unique needs and preferences.
Privacy
Despite the fact that online health care (OHC) provides a safe and efficient platform for sharing professional health care knowledge, it also poses many privacy protection challenges. The sharing of personal data, especially health information, may lead to harassment from commercial advertisements and other types of communication. Hence, physicians have to make sure that patient-physician confidentiality is maintained.
One of the mainstays of interactive forms of professional health care knowledge sharing in OHCs is online doctor-patient consultations. These consultations take place via images and text messages. In addition to professional health care knowledge sharing, the patient can also upload test results and make recommendations based on his or her symptoms. However, unless the doctor changes the privacy protection settings, the records of these consultations are public.
A number of studies have been conducted to investigate the privacy protection of professional health care knowledge sharing in OHCs. However, these studies have not specifically focused on professional knowledge sharing between patients and doctors.
