The Insurance Hurdle
Market researcher Irwin says the average
telemedical visit costs between $40 and
$50. My visits were in that range and I
consider the convenience and prompt
service well worth the price. I assumed that
my insurance wouldn’t pay for the visit,
and, like me, more than half of the patients
surveyed (56%) didn’t know if their health
insurance covers visits conducted using
telemedicine.
Arizona’s telemedicine parity law is
“partial”—it covers only a few healthcare
services and primary care, unfortunately,
is not among them. We need to get
telemedicine parity to the point where
patients don’t have to wonder if they’re
covered when they choose to see a doctor
via telemedicine—because, according to the
survey, studies suggest that the number of
patients taking advantage of telemedicine
will increase twentyfold over the five year
period from 2013 (350,000 users) to
2018 (7 million users).
The Number One Concern
Patients in the survey also were asked to
cite their top concerns about their most
recent telemedicine visit. The numberone concern was “missing in-person
interaction” (21%) with many pointing
out that the visit was “colder” or “less
personal” than an ordinary, in-person
visit.
I personally didn’t feel that way, but that
could be because I am very used to using
videoconferencing to interact with others—
and also, the provider I met with had a great
“screen presence,” making me feel right at
home.
Check out the full “Patient Interest in
Adopting Telemedicine” survey to read
more and see all the results.
A recent survey found that
only 16 percent of patients
would prefer to seek care
for a minor ailment at an
emergency room if they also
had access to telemedical
services.
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