The recently launched virtual dermatology platform, Dermatologist -OnCall is designed to aid board-certified dermatologists in providing their patients with a diagnosis and treatment plan including counseling on the condition through a secure website. After a patient completes a brief registration process, dermatologists are able provide patients with a diagnosis, condition counseling and a comprehensive treatment plan within 3 business days.
Telemedicine Trends
DermatologyOnCall picks up on the growing trend of telemedicine, which is defined as the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status. It includes a growing variety of applications and services using 2-way video, email, smart phones, wireless tools and other forms of telecommunications technology, according to the American Telemedicine Association.
Worldwide revenue for telehealth devices and services is expected to reach $4.5 billion in 2018, an increase from $440.6 million in 2013, according to IHS Health. These results are discussed in the IHS report “World Market for Telehealth – 2014 Edition.” The projected number of people using telehealth will reach 7 million in 2018 compared with <350,000 in 2013.
This increase is due in part because medical providers are increasingly employing remote communications and monitoring technology to reduce costs and improve the quality of care, according to IHS Technology.
Experts in the field note that the millennials and future digital natives could push the popularity of telemedicine even further in the future (See: American Telemedicine video).
A recent study, sponsored by The RAND Corporation, found that people who are younger, more affluent and do not have established healthcare relationships are more likely to use a telemedicine program that allows patients to get medical help without stepping into a doctor’s office.
The study, published in Health Affairs,1 describes early experiences with Teladoc, one of the largest telemedicine providers in the Unites States. Teladoc provides care to patients over the telephone and Internet for a variety of medical problems including respiratory illness and skin problems.
The study analyzed claims data for a California agency serving public employees that offered Teladoc within their services. The study included 3,701 Teladoc “visits” for a range of diagnostic categories. Compared to patients who visited a physician’s office for a similar condition, adult Teladoc users were younger and less likely to have used healthcare before trying Teladoc. Patients who used Teladoc were less likely to have a follow-up visit to any setting, compared to those patients who visited a physician’s office or emergency department.
The researchers concluded that Teladoc appears to be expanding access to patients who are not connected to other providers; however, future research is needed to assess the impact of Teladoc and other telehealth interventions on the quality and cost of care.
“Telemedicine services as the one we studied that directly links physicians and patients via the telephone or Internet have the potential to expand access to care and lower costs,” explains Lori Uscher-Pines, lead author of the study and a policy researcher at RAND, a non-profit research organization. She notes interest in telemedicine programs has grown due to a shortage of primary care physicians.
“The people who are attracted to this type of medicine may be a more technologically savvy group that has less time to obtain medical care through traditional settings,” says co-author Ateev Mehrotra, a RAND researcher and an associate professor at the Harvard Medical School.
April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, assistant professor of dermatology, director of Clinical Research Unit and director of Teledermatology at the University of California, Davis, agrees that younger, technology-minded generations of patients are likely to be interested in teledermatology. However, it will only be a good option for some patients.
“I think, in the future, teledermatology will be used even more, with a newer generation of patients,” Dr. Armstrong explains. “This will be our younger generation of patients who are much more savvy than us in terms of using the online technology… They’re going to be our healthcare consumers, and I think they’re going to be very comfortable with this type of healthcare delivery. You will have a demand from a younger generation of healthcare consumers who are less tolerant of spending half their day in a doctor’s office and they will be a lot more open to using technology for their healthcare,” she told The Dermatologist in an article on trends in teledermatology.
Improved Patient Scheduling
Telemedicine also can ease patient scheduling issues. For example, with the DermatologistOnCall platform, dermatologists can allocate in-office appointments for more severe cases and efficiently diagnose and prescribe a treatment plan for patients with more routine conditions.
“The platform has revolutionized how I run my practice. I am now able to reserve in-office visits for more urgent conditions and treat patients with more routine conditions much more efficiently. Overall, it has greatly improved our office productivity and was seamlessly integrated into our operations,” says Dr. Mark Seraly, MD, chief executive and medical officer for DermatologistOnCall.
“Knowing that the Dermatologist OnCall platform would allow me to offer quality and timely access to care to a patient who would normally have to wait up to 4 months for an in-office visit was one of the primary reasons I joined the DermatologistOnCall network,” says Dr. Lisa Pawelski, a dermatologist in practice in Pittsburgh, PA.
“My office staff is now able to offer this service as a solution for patients who would otherwise be facing a significant wait time. It not only takes the pressure off of them, but it provides an option for a patient who may be experiencing distress to seek an immediate and quality solution,” she adds.
Reference
1. Uscher-Pines L, Mehrotra A. Analysis of teladoc use seems to indicate expanded access to care for patients without prior connection to a provider. Health Aff (Millwood). 2014;33(2):258-264.
The recently launched virtual dermatology platform, Dermatologist -OnCall is designed to aid board-certified dermatologists in providing their patients with a diagnosis and treatment plan including counseling on the condition through a secure website. After a patient completes a brief registration process, dermatologists are able provide patients with a diagnosis, condition counseling and a comprehensive treatment plan within 3 business days.
Telemedicine Trends
DermatologyOnCall picks up on the growing trend of telemedicine, which is defined as the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status. It includes a growing variety of applications and services using 2-way video, email, smart phones, wireless tools and other forms of telecommunications technology, according to the American Telemedicine Association.
Worldwide revenue for telehealth devices and services is expected to reach $4.5 billion in 2018, an increase from $440.6 million in 2013, according to IHS Health. These results are discussed in the IHS report “World Market for Telehealth – 2014 Edition.” The projected number of people using telehealth will reach 7 million in 2018 compared with <350,000 in 2013.
This increase is due in part because medical providers are increasingly employing remote communications and monitoring technology to reduce costs and improve the quality of care, according to IHS Technology.
Experts in the field note that the millennials and future digital natives could push the popularity of telemedicine even further in the future (See: American Telemedicine video).
A recent study, sponsored by The RAND Corporation, found that people who are younger, more affluent and do not have established healthcare relationships are more likely to use a telemedicine program that allows patients to get medical help without stepping into a doctor’s office.
The study, published in Health Affairs,1 describes early experiences with Teladoc, one of the largest telemedicine providers in the Unites States. Teladoc provides care to patients over the telephone and Internet for a variety of medical problems including respiratory illness and skin problems.
The study analyzed claims data for a California agency serving public employees that offered Teladoc within their services. The study included 3,701 Teladoc “visits” for a range of diagnostic categories. Compared to patients who visited a physician’s office for a similar condition, adult Teladoc users were younger and less likely to have used healthcare before trying Teladoc. Patients who used Teladoc were less likely to have a follow-up visit to any setting, compared to those patients who visited a physician’s office or emergency department.
The researchers concluded that Teladoc appears to be expanding access to patients who are not connected to other providers; however, future research is needed to assess the impact of Teladoc and other telehealth interventions on the quality and cost of care.
“Telemedicine services as the one we studied that directly links physicians and patients via the telephone or Internet have the potential to expand access to care and lower costs,” explains Lori Uscher-Pines, lead author of the study and a policy researcher at RAND, a non-profit research organization. She notes interest in telemedicine programs has grown due to a shortage of primary care physicians.
“The people who are attracted to this type of medicine may be a more technologically savvy group that has less time to obtain medical care through traditional settings,” says co-author Ateev Mehrotra, a RAND researcher and an associate professor at the Harvard Medical School.
April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, assistant professor of dermatology, director of Clinical Research Unit and director of Teledermatology at the University of California, Davis, agrees that younger, technology-minded generations of patients are likely to be interested in teledermatology. However, it will only be a good option for some patients.
“I think, in the future, teledermatology will be used even more, with a newer generation of patients,” Dr. Armstrong explains. “This will be our younger generation of patients who are much more savvy than us in terms of using the online technology… They’re going to be our healthcare consumers, and I think they’re going to be very comfortable with this type of healthcare delivery. You will have a demand from a younger generation of healthcare consumers who are less tolerant of spending half their day in a doctor’s office and they will be a lot more open to using technology for their healthcare,” she told The Dermatologist in an article on trends in teledermatology.
Improved Patient Scheduling
Telemedicine also can ease patient scheduling issues. For example, with the DermatologistOnCall platform, dermatologists can allocate in-office appointments for more severe cases and efficiently diagnose and prescribe a treatment plan for patients with more routine conditions.
“The platform has revolutionized how I run my practice. I am now able to reserve in-office visits for more urgent conditions and treat patients with more routine conditions much more efficiently. Overall, it has greatly improved our office productivity and was seamlessly integrated into our operations,” says Dr. Mark Seraly, MD, chief executive and medical officer for DermatologistOnCall.
“Knowing that the Dermatologist OnCall platform would allow me to offer quality and timely access to care to a patient who would normally have to wait up to 4 months for an in-office visit was one of the primary reasons I joined the DermatologistOnCall network,” says Dr. Lisa Pawelski, a dermatologist in practice in Pittsburgh, PA.
“My office staff is now able to offer this service as a solution for patients who would otherwise be facing a significant wait time. It not only takes the pressure off of them, but it provides an option for a patient who may be experiencing distress to seek an immediate and quality solution,” she adds.
Reference
1. Uscher-Pines L, Mehrotra A. Analysis of teladoc use seems to indicate expanded access to care for patients without prior connection to a provider. Health Aff (Millwood). 2014;33(2):258-264.
The recently launched virtual dermatology platform, Dermatologist -OnCall is designed to aid board-certified dermatologists in providing their patients with a diagnosis and treatment plan including counseling on the condition through a secure website. After a patient completes a brief registration process, dermatologists are able provide patients with a diagnosis, condition counseling and a comprehensive treatment plan within 3 business days.
Telemedicine Trends
DermatologyOnCall picks up on the growing trend of telemedicine, which is defined as the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status. It includes a growing variety of applications and services using 2-way video, email, smart phones, wireless tools and other forms of telecommunications technology, according to the American Telemedicine Association.
Worldwide revenue for telehealth devices and services is expected to reach $4.5 billion in 2018, an increase from $440.6 million in 2013, according to IHS Health. These results are discussed in the IHS report “World Market for Telehealth – 2014 Edition.” The projected number of people using telehealth will reach 7 million in 2018 compared with <350,000 in 2013.
This increase is due in part because medical providers are increasingly employing remote communications and monitoring technology to reduce costs and improve the quality of care, according to IHS Technology.
Experts in the field note that the millennials and future digital natives could push the popularity of telemedicine even further in the future (See: American Telemedicine video).
A recent study, sponsored by The RAND Corporation, found that people who are younger, more affluent and do not have established healthcare relationships are more likely to use a telemedicine program that allows patients to get medical help without stepping into a doctor’s office.
The study, published in Health Affairs,1 describes early experiences with Teladoc, one of the largest telemedicine providers in the Unites States. Teladoc provides care to patients over the telephone and Internet for a variety of medical problems including respiratory illness and skin problems.
The study analyzed claims data for a California agency serving public employees that offered Teladoc within their services. The study included 3,701 Teladoc “visits” for a range of diagnostic categories. Compared to patients who visited a physician’s office for a similar condition, adult Teladoc users were younger and less likely to have used healthcare before trying Teladoc. Patients who used Teladoc were less likely to have a follow-up visit to any setting, compared to those patients who visited a physician’s office or emergency department.
The researchers concluded that Teladoc appears to be expanding access to patients who are not connected to other providers; however, future research is needed to assess the impact of Teladoc and other telehealth interventions on the quality and cost of care.
“Telemedicine services as the one we studied that directly links physicians and patients via the telephone or Internet have the potential to expand access to care and lower costs,” explains Lori Uscher-Pines, lead author of the study and a policy researcher at RAND, a non-profit research organization. She notes interest in telemedicine programs has grown due to a shortage of primary care physicians.
“The people who are attracted to this type of medicine may be a more technologically savvy group that has less time to obtain medical care through traditional settings,” says co-author Ateev Mehrotra, a RAND researcher and an associate professor at the Harvard Medical School.
April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, assistant professor of dermatology, director of Clinical Research Unit and director of Teledermatology at the University of California, Davis, agrees that younger, technology-minded generations of patients are likely to be interested in teledermatology. However, it will only be a good option for some patients.
“I think, in the future, teledermatology will be used even more, with a newer generation of patients,” Dr. Armstrong explains. “This will be our younger generation of patients who are much more savvy than us in terms of using the online technology… They’re going to be our healthcare consumers, and I think they’re going to be very comfortable with this type of healthcare delivery. You will have a demand from a younger generation of healthcare consumers who are less tolerant of spending half their day in a doctor’s office and they will be a lot more open to using technology for their healthcare,” she told The Dermatologist in an article on trends in teledermatology.
Improved Patient Scheduling
Telemedicine also can ease patient scheduling issues. For example, with the DermatologistOnCall platform, dermatologists can allocate in-office appointments for more severe cases and efficiently diagnose and prescribe a treatment plan for patients with more routine conditions.
“The platform has revolutionized how I run my practice. I am now able to reserve in-office visits for more urgent conditions and treat patients with more routine conditions much more efficiently. Overall, it has greatly improved our office productivity and was seamlessly integrated into our operations,” says Dr. Mark Seraly, MD, chief executive and medical officer for DermatologistOnCall.
“Knowing that the Dermatologist OnCall platform would allow me to offer quality and timely access to care to a patient who would normally have to wait up to 4 months for an in-office visit was one of the primary reasons I joined the DermatologistOnCall network,” says Dr. Lisa Pawelski, a dermatologist in practice in Pittsburgh, PA.
“My office staff is now able to offer this service as a solution for patients who would otherwise be facing a significant wait time. It not only takes the pressure off of them, but it provides an option for a patient who may be experiencing distress to seek an immediate and quality solution,” she adds.
Reference
1. Uscher-Pines L, Mehrotra A. Analysis of teladoc use seems to indicate expanded access to care for patients without prior connection to a provider. Health Aff (Millwood). 2014;33(2):258-264.
