Using telemedicine, especially
video-based communications is not difficult for me. I do not have a
doctor that will use it. Fortunately, there are doctors that can and
do use this form of communications in some areas of the USA. I admit
that I wish I could and maybe someday, as telemedicine becomes more
acceptable and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
decides that it is worth reimbursing for and less of a problem than
they currently envision. I am hoping congressional action will light
a fire under CMS.
This is one reason I try to research
about telemedicine more frequently. Diabetes still is my main
concern, but I am finding more regular sources of information and
don't have to look as hard for good information. Now the information
comes to me and allows me to research more for topics in
telemedicine, mHealth, telehealth, and other topics of interest.
As telemedicine comes into its own, one
Silicon Valley firm has stepped up and has a product that consumers
may desire because of its availability. Granted, presently it is
only for iPad owners and not those of us with desktop computers.
Vsee, a Silicon Valley-based company that's created the first iPad
telehealth app that is FDA-registered and HIPAA-compliant. It's also
free to download and free for patients to use the base-level service.
This is the great part and makes it desirable.
When will it be available for desktop
computers, and other tablets? This is unknown at this time. Further
down it does say computers or tablets, so apparently they are
available. The big feature is Vsee uses end-to-end encryption. The
drawback is finding doctors that will use this under current
conditions. I can envision contract physicians using this. I
discuss contract medicine in a blog of mine here.
Vsee CEO Milton Chen says that last
year in the USA, there was more than 900 million doctor visits. He
estimates that half those would have been suitable for handling
remotely, especially for things like follow-ups, discussion of lab
results, psychiatric visits, and certain types of counseling.
Another feature that Vsee promotes is
document sharing and the use of an electronic pen to mark up the
document. This means test results and other reports important to the
patient. Vsee does charge $9 per user per month for the
document-sharing feature and collects a usage fee from the
participating doctor. A patient would pay the healthcare provider
directly for the telemedicine visit.
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