It wasn't that long ago that on a weekend I could call my doctor's office on call doctor, explain my symptoms and they call in a prescription. Or make up an excuse as to why I haven't been able to get in for my annual checkup and promise that I'll be in next month if they could just call me in a script to flout me for one more month. That was it, the nurse would pass on the information to the doctor and they would call my pharmacy. That just doesn't happen much anymore. The doctor always wants to see you in their office. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but I do know a remedy from the reality of modern day healthcare and that's Telemedicine. Most of my customers look at me strange when I tell them that they can call a doctor for free and that doctor can write a prescription over the phone. Yes, it's 100% legal and millions of patients have done it.
several years now.
First things first, there are some things that calling a doctor won't do you much good. Obviously if you break your leg, calling the doctor will offer you little relief. But keep this in mind, the American Medical Association has said that about 70% of ER and urgent care visits could have been handled over the phone. So about three quarters of urgent care patients could have saved a lot of time and money by just calling a doctor instead. Let's take a quick look at a few of the ways telemedicine can help you.
Save Money
The cost of an average ER visit is $1,233 according to debt.org and an urgent care visit will set you back about $150. Those with a MedCard membership pay $0 for a doctor consultation 24 hours a day every day of the week. The savings can really add up especially if you utilize pharmacies that offer free antibiotics and other drugs.
Save Time
The average wait time in an ER waiting room is approximately 30 minutes while the average time to get treatment is 90 minutes, according to US News. I don't know about you but I could get a lot done in 90 minutes (sometimes anyways) and if I'm sick that's time you could spend resting, getting better.
Improved Access
The American Telemedicine Association states " The greatest impact of telemedicine is on the patient, their family and their community. Using telemedicine technologies reduces travel time and related stresses for the patient." Being able to call a primary doctor or specialist allows patients that might otherwise not be able to get to a doctor or have time to get to the doctor have easy access.
These are just a few reasons that telemedicine has helped millions of patients and will continue to help millions more. If you want 24/7 access to doctors consultations with no co-pay CompMed Rx provides this and many other benefits to all members at no additional cost.