DrugBuyers.Com: Blue Shield of California to cover online consult

Ok keystone here is the article.
guitardude, you are right. The insurance companies will probably screw it up like they have everything else.

By JOHANNA BENNETT
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

In a nation where 66% of adults have access to the Internet, it was only a matter of time before people began using the Web to get medical advice from their doctors.

But until now, health insurers have held back from covering online consultations while they studied the potential cost savings, the appeal of the service to plan members and patient privacy issues.

Last month, Blue Shield of California became the first major U.S. health insurer to agree to cover online consultations between patients and their physicians, paying doctors $20 for a "Web call." The decision by California's third-largest health insurer could spark similar policy changes at other health plans during the next decade. The option is already under study at Cigna Corp., Health Net Inc., First Health Group Corp., Pacificare Health Systems Inc. and ConnectiCare.

"It will grow slowly, but steadily," said Mike Barrett, senior health-care analyst for Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass.

Beginning next year, Blue Shield of California's 2.3 million members will be able to send electronic messages to their physicians using a secure Web portal designed by RelayHealth Corp. of Emeryville, Calif. Existing patients can use the portal to schedule an appointment, request a prescription refill or ask questions about nonurgent medical concerns such as back pain, seasonal allergies, sore throats and earaches.

"I love it," said Susan Glenn, a 42-year-old financial analyst in Sacramento, Calif., and one of more than 5,000 patients who participated in a six-month pilot study. "I don't have to pay to wait for hours in a waiting room and then only see my doctor for 30 seconds. I get in right away, and I hear back in a matter of a few hours."

"Web calls" aren't expected to completely replace office visits, nor should they. The medium is unsuitable for serious or complicated medical problems, according to experts.

But health-industry analysts agree the Internet can facilitate communication between doctors and patients, especially regarding sensitive or chronic medical conditions, in a way that telephones never could. Hectic schedules leave doctors little time for phone conversations with patients, who can end up waiting a day or two for a response to a question.

If patients could communicate with doctors over the Internet, more than 20% of all in-office visits could be eliminated, according to HealthCast 2010, a 1999 survey of health-care executives by PricewaterhouseCoopers. As a result, physicians would have more time for patients with serious medical concerns and employees would take less time away from work. Also, health plans could cut costs -- potentially several million dollars a month -- by paying $20 to $25 for a Web call compared with $50 to $70 for a doctor's visit.

There's a crimp in that scenario, however. Industry experts say some doctors don't share their patients' enthusiasm for online consultations, citing concerns such as patient privacy, malpractice liability, insurance reimbursement and, in some cases, the potential for lost revenue. Before they climb onboard, doctors want assurances they will be paid for the advice they dish out on the Internet, said Eric Liederman, medical director of clinical information systems at UC Davis Health System.

People, however, aren't so keen about dipping into their own wallets to pay for the service, which leaves it to insurers to step up to the plate.

Only 37% of patients in favor of online consultations are willing to pay out-of-pocket for the service, and 70% of them want to pay less than $5 for each "Web visit," according to figures from Harris Interactive. "There is no incentive for doctors to do it unless they get paid for it," Dr. Liederman said.

Oddly, doctors don't charge patients for telephone consultations, and insurance companies don't reimburse for them. "If you don't have a way to recoup your fees, then it is just something else that is costing you money," said Michael Good, a physician with ProHealth Physicians in Middletown, Conn., and a RelayHealth member.

Dr. Good said he receives between one and two Web visits a day. While he doesn't charge patients who contact him with requests for referrals and appointments, he does charge between $5 and $30 for consultations.

Write to Johanna Bennett at

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THE HARDEST THING FOR A MAN TO DO IS ADMIT HE HAS ACTED FOOLISHLY AND SELFISHLY