From Hawaii to New York, online consultation slowly takes off

Hawaii Medical Service Association has been offering $10 online consultations with doctors for its members since early this year. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is piloting a similar program now, with plans to take it statewide in 2010. American Well and UnitedHealth Group subsidiary OptumHealth are teaming up to offer nationwide online consults. In Brooklyn, N.Y., Hello Health, an innovative practice made up of young physicians serving young adults, encourages patients to contact their doctors via email, instant message, text message, or a Facebook-like networking site.

Much of this is not news to regular readers of FierceHealthIT, but a whole bunch of people are finding out about virtual visits and other forms of telehealth, courtesy of a feature article in last week's U.S. News and World Report. This kind of care is just as convenient for clinicians as it is for patients, too. "On a Maui beach near his office, internist Irving Harper towels off, picks up his cellphone, and handles questions from patients he's never seen," the story says about one HMSA participant. Some also see virtual consultations as a way of bringing down healthcare costs.

For more about online and virtual care:
- read this U.S. News story

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