Millions of people will be able to see doctors on their smartphones or laptops for everyday ailments once the nation's largest drugstore chain and two major insurers expand a budding push into virtual health care.
Walgreens said Wednesday that it will offer a smartphone application that links doctors and patients virtually in 25 states by the end of the year. A news release Wednesday from Walgreens did not identify the states.
The growth of the Walgreen system comes as UnitedHealth Group and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurer Anthem Inc. prepare to make their own nonemergency telemedicine services available to about 40 million more people by next year.
Doctors have used video feeds and other technology for years to treat patients in rural areas or remote locations. But experts say growing smartphone use and customer demand are fueling a rapid expansion of the practice, called telemedicine, into everyday care that the family doctor used to handle. Now this push is gaining an additional boost from health care companies with broad, national reach.
The American Telemedicine Association estimates that about 450,000 patients will see doctors through the Internet this year for primary care consultations. That's a small slice of the roughly 15 million people who will have care delivered by telemedicine, which has mostly been used by specialist doctors. But the primary care portion has probably doubled over the past couple of years, said Jon Linkous, chief executive officer of the nonprofit association.
"I would say without a doubt it's the fastest area of growth in telemedicine," he said. "There's this convenience factor that makes it so compelling to consumers."
Drugstores, grocers and big retailers such as Wal-Mart have been opening clinics inside their stores for years now, giving patients several less-expensive alternatives to doctor's offices when they need help. Internet doctor visits aim to offer even more convenience by providing care wherever the patient is located.
Programs offered by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and the insurers give customers around-the-clock access to doctors who can diagnose and prescribe drugs for allergies, sinus infections or pink eye, conditions that don't require physical exams.
The extent of the care a patient receives can vary by state. Some regulators prevent a doctor from using a telemedicine visit to write prescriptions for controlled substances or abortion-inducing medicines. Some states also require a doctor to have an established relationship with a patient, which might include a physical or mental exam, before allowing the doctor to do a telemedicine visit.
These virtual visits can cost around $49 for patients who have no coverage or insurance that makes them pay high deductibles. That compares with typical prices of $70 each for clinic visits or more than $100 each for doctor's office visits.
Walgreens started testing its app in December on smartphones and is expanding it to tablets and personal computers.
UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's largest health insurer, just started covering telemedicine visits earlier this year for about a million people with employer-sponsored health plans. The insurer aims to expand that to 20 million customers next year.
Anthem Inc. started its LiveHealth Online service in 2013 by offering it to a few thousand people. It now provides the service in 44 states and expects 20 million of its customers to have access by next year.
Doctors say telemedicine can help improve access to care for many patients, as long as the care is good, records of the patient visits make it back to the people's regular doctors and safety isn't compromised.
Dr. Robert Wergin expects to do more telemedicine visits in the future as more insurers begin to cover it. The Milford, Neb., doctor said it can help many of his patients who are older and have difficulty leaving their houses.
"I can see a real benefit there," he said.
But the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians cautioned that telemedicine has limits. He noted, for instance, that one of his patients recently wound up having quadruple bypass surgery after going to see him for a burning sensation in his chest. The physician could rule out acid reflux as a potential cause by examining the patient's abdomen, something a doctor couldn't do in a virtual visit.
Walgreens said the doctors in its program are trained to quickly determine whether a patient needs more care than they can provide during a virtual visit.
"We're very careful in only using telemedicine for certain conditions that are amenable to this," Walgreens Chief Medical Officer Dr. Harry Leider said. "We're not treating heart attacks."
Business on 06/11/2015