TelaDoc Medical Services lets patients who pay a monthly fee call an answering service and, within three hours, talk with a physician. That physician may -- or may not -- give them a prescription. Is this faster service than what family physicians offer? By and large -- no, said AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., in an Associated Press story published Dec. 10 in various newspapers, including The Kansas City (Mo.) Star.
The story, "Doctor-by-Phone Service Touts Patient Convenience But Worries Some Physicians," said TelaDoc had an estimated 30,000 members. "To make an appointment and see a doctor -- the whole process is very inconvenient," said TelaDoc member Peter Beasley, who is uninsured. "For the vast majority of Americans, being able to talk to a doctor in an hour is next to impossible," said Michael Gorton, chief executive of the Dallas-based TelaDoc.
But Fields said he doesn't see the benefit TelaDoc says it provides. "As much as I'd like to put a positive spin on it, most patients can get to their family physicians just as quick by telephone" as the TelaDoc patients do, said Fields.
"Nothing, we think, can replace the face-to-face with a doctor," said AMA President and family physician J. Edward Hill, M.D., of Tupelo, Miss.
TelaDoc members pay a registration fee of $18, complete a medical history, and pay $4.25 per month and $35 for each phone consultation. Five states (Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia) require an examination before a patient may use TeleDoc, said Gorton. TelaDoc is not meant to replace the family physician, he added.
