Online Medicine: Prescription from a Doctor You Never Met Or Even Talked To
Nancy Kjellberg’s allergies were insufferable again, with sharp sinus pain and her nose so stuffed up it was hard to breathe. She didn’t want to go to the doctor. This time, she didn’t have to.
Kjellberg, 59, simply charged $25 to her credit card and spent a few minutes answering an online survey at Zipnosis.com. Hours later, she received a diagnosis electronically and picked up antibiotics at her pharmacy, without ever talking to the clinician in person or on the phone.
I’m sure this service will have its detractors. And, of course, I would like it better if it were my own doctor interpreting the results of my online medical questionnaire. However, I really like reading about innovative medical services designed to better meet the needs of patients.
The question for me is, “How many people will fake pain in order to get specific drugs?”
Of course, they will get the drugs anyway, regardless of the hurdles in place. So, perhaps it’s a mute point.
The other issue is one that my doctor mentioned. He said, “It’s the stuff that I notice during the physical which makes the difference. Often, the patient won’t notice there is a problem, but I’m the one that finds the suspicious mole on the top of the ear or the uneven heartbeat.”
While you can’t get that level of observation online, at least you can get allergy medicine and such. I don’t think it’s a substitute for seeing a real doctor, but it works in a pinch.
You you look at the zipnosis website, you’ll notice that they don’t prescribe any serious painkillers. They also seem to have limited themselves to the sort of ailments that cure themselves in a few days anyway: colds; seasonal allergies (not real allergies that require diagnosis); canker sores. The $25 charge is about the same as a copay so it’s probably a good choice for hypochondriacs but not for a real illness.
Ah. Didn’t see website. Thanks for the tip.
What Artk says is generally true. Teladoc, for example, will not prescribe opiates or other Class II controlled substances by phone. That still leaves a lot of needs that can be met by telemedicine, however.
Prescribing antibiotics for allergies? How good could the service be?