Dialing Up Doctors

A new "telemedicine" service provides consultations with doctors over the phone.

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay notes that chats with your doctor over the phone about your medical issues aren't new, but the emerging service offers telephone access to primary care doctors in place of an office visit, to diagnose and treat non-emergency health issues.

TelaDoc is a nationwide subscription service with licensed doctors, aimed at people with limited time, travelers, and people without insurance, Senay explains. It offers round-the-clock access for $35 a consultation, plus a small registration fee and monthly charge.

TelaDoc is designed to be cost-effective and quick in resolving many of the routine medical issues that don't require an in-person exam. It offers same-day service without any treatment delay.

Callers are referred to 911 or an emergency room for urgent care or health emergencies. And there are non-urgent conditions that simply can't be diagnosed without touching the patient.

But TelaDoc points out that not all medical issues require an exam.

Some examples it gives are respiratory infections, allergies, sprains, strains, pain from arthritis, muscles or bones, gastroenteritis, and gastric reflux or chronic heartburn.The service also provides travel consultation and immunization planning. It doesn't refer specialists.

Before the consultation, the doctor has online access to the patient's medical history, which patients provide when they enroll. Information about chronic illnesses, current medications and allergies to medications are available and updated after each consultation.

Senay observes that there's really no substitute for a routine exam in person, and some doctors are skeptical about the quality of this new brand of over-the-phone care from a doctor you don't know.

But, for people who would otherwise not receive any care, or for people who aren't forsaking a routine checkup, TelaDoc asserts that it fills a need.

Senay remarks that the service does away with the waiting room, but not always the wait. TelaDoc says patients usually get a callback from a qualified primary care physician in under an hour, and a callback is guaranteed within three hours.

Prescriptions can be phoned in to pharmacies for drugs such as antibiotics and antihistamines. Recurring prescriptions usually aren't provided, and if they are, it's mostly on a case-by-case basis, Senay says. TelaDoc doesn't issue prescriptions for controlled substances that may be harmful or have the potential for abuse or addiction.