First there were walk-in visits to strip mall clinics, then medical care during errands at CVS. Now, a Massachusetts medical technology company has launched a service that allows patients to visit a doctor over their computer, smartphone, or wireless tablet.
Boston-based American Well has worked with US insurance companies for several years to provide “telehealth” services to some of their members. But since October, it has begun offering its virtual visits directly to consumers, typically charging $49 for the convenience of an online primary care visit available 24 hours a day without an appointment. As part of its Massachusetts launch Thursday, a patient’s first visit here will cost $20.
Doctors can write prescriptions for common medications such as antibiotics, but not for drugs such as painkillers. The direct-to-consumer service is available in 43 states and Washington, D.C.; about 10,000 consumers enrolled in the first month.
Doctors, hospitals and regulators are scrambling to keep up with the evolving field of telemedicine, trying to balance patient convenience with quality-of-care considerations. American Well’s direct-to-
consumer model is part of a new frontier in medical technology, but one that leaves some physicians squeamish. Among their concerns is that doctors won’t be able to properly diagnose patients without seeing them in person.
In the past decade, telemedicine has mostly been used by doctors to supplement care for their own patients, as a way to monitor them between visits to the office, and by teaching hospitals to provide specialized consultations to community hospitals for stroke and intensive care patients. In the American Well model, the doctors will provide the service to many patients they don’t know.
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“Telemedicine holds out a lot of promise,” said William Ryder, regulatory and legislative counsel for the Massachusetts Medical Society. But “what are the limits here?’’
Dr. Roy Schoenberg, chief executive of American Well Systems, said the company has put in place safeguards that will ensure care is appropriate. Telemedicine, he said, has been shown to reduce the cost of urgent care, often replacing emergency room visits. He said consumers are demanding convenience. “People are running around, and they don’t have access to or don’t have time to find a physician.’’
Date: December 6, 2013