Employers looking to reduce health care costs increasingly are offering plans that include e-visits and telemedicine appointments as well as/instead of in-person doctor office visits. Online video or login portal physician visits are cheaper and more convenient for physicians and patients as well. Yet new research results question whether e-visits offer the same kind of care for patients.
The telemedicine model has the advantage of allowing patients to “be seen when you want as quickly as you want,” says CEO of STAT Doctors Alan Roga, who points out that telemedicine is particularly attractive in a society that loves instant gratification as much as Americans do. He also considers telehealth benefits a great “turnkey solution for the employer,” coming at no cost to them while providing the most accessible kind of care.
