A recent Bloomberg News article [1]described a major expansion of telemedicine in which WellPoint, Aetna, Inc., among other insurers are permitting online visits for initial consultations. Current HCFO grantee R. Adams Dudley, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, was quoted in the article describing the higher potential for misdiagnosis from online visits. Dudley’s HCFO-funded study [2] is examining the process and quality of virtual medical care, and he has found [3]that online visits may have unintended effects on health care use, diagnostic accuracy and continuity of care.
Links:
[1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-14/the-doctor-will-click-on-you-now.html
[2] http://www.hcfo.org/grants/studying-process-and-quality-virtual-medical-care
[3] http://www.hcfo.org/publications/websites-offer-care-over-internet-there-access-quality-tradeoff
[4] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/access
[5] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/acute-care
[6] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/coordination-care
[7] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/health-information-technology
[8] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/organization-and-supply-care
[9] http://www.hcfo.org/topics/quality-care