Why Demand Is Skyrocketing
Many physicians undoubtedly feel, as the American Medical Association (AMA) does,[9] that a hands-on visit is the preferred mode of doctor/patient interaction, and for serious health issues, that remains undisputed. But for everything else, including borderline cases, consider things from the patient's perspective.
Among the top reasons for postponing a doctor visit, the Harris Poll survey found, were an inability to take a day off from work (so said 30% of the respondents), the high cost of insurance copays and coinsurance (25%), the length of time it takes to get an appointment (16%), and cooling one's heels in the doctor's waiting room (12%).[8]
Then there's the growing problem of physician access. While over 8 million people have enrolled in state and federally facilitated health insurance exchanges, and 4.8 million additional people have enrolled in Medicaid, finding a physician these days is no easy task.[10]
Take Massachusetts, where 99% of residents are insured. A 2013 study by the Massachusetts Medical Society found the average wait time to see a family physician was 39 days; for internists, it was 50 days; for pediatricians, it was 25 days. Moreover, one half or fewer of primary care practices surveyed were not accepting new patients.[11]
The situation is only going to get worse. Unless there's a dramatic change, warns the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), there will be shortage of more than 130,600 physicians by 2025.[12]
That prediction is based on growing population demand, before physician burnout is factored in. A 2012 Urban Institute Study of 500 primary care physicians found that 30% of those aged 25-49 years, and 52% of those older then 50 years, planned to leave medical practice within 5 years.[13]
A 2013 Medscape survey, Physician Lifestyles -- Linking to Burnout, found that of 24 specialties measured, burnout was a significant problem in all of them, with emergency medicine, critical care medicine, family medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, internal medicine, anesthesiology, and general surgery heading the list.[14]
As a result, 73% of adults have difficulty receiving timely medical care without having to resort to the emergency room, reports telehealth provider Teladoc.[15]
According to the firm's website, without videoconferencing or some other remote physician visit option, 8% of patients would have gone to the emergency department (average cost: $1477); 42% would have sought urgent care (average cost: $163); 1% would have seen a specialist (average cost: $196); 38% would have seen a primary doctor (average cost: $131); and 11% would do nothing.[15]
Virtual visits cost considerably less. For example, employees of the technology giant Oracle, which uses American Well's telehealth platform and virtual network of physicians, pay only a $5 copay to see a board-certified doctor online, which they can do at home or at their desks at work.[16] But even patients who pay retail rates are generally charged less than $50, a bargain compared with the alternatives.
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Cite this: Video Visits With Patients Are Taking Off - Medscape - Sep 24, 2014.
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