Doctor Visits Made Cheaper Via Teleconferencing

A lot of patients today are getting an online diagnosis of their medical condition from certified health care professionals via video conferencing.

This method has so far proved to be convenient to several patients since it prevents the need to personally visit hospitals which could possibly take more time and money.

For instance, Jessica DeVissier was hurting from a puffy face and decided to seek professional help online. The 35 year old woman received virtual medical consultation from a qualified physician after entering her credit card details.

The physician then took a good look at her patient and enquired details about her medical condition. The doctor later made a diagnosis and also prescribed medications which DeVissier could buy from a pharmacy.

"I'm terrible about going to the doctor, just because of the time it takes," Ms. DeVisser said. "This feels empowering: You just click a button and the doctor comes to you."

DeVissier is not the only one to try out these new forms of consultation. Fifty one year old Hope Sickmeier got relief from a terrible tooth ache when she contacted her insurance company for an online consultation. All she had to do was download the recommended app and she was patched through to a doctor to help her deal with her problem.

"I was in so much pain, I didn't care that it was weird," Ms. Sickmeier reported. "He got right to the point, which was what I wanted. He prescribed antibiotics and called them into an all-night pharmacy about 20 minutes away."

Doctors are using virtual platforms like Facetime, Skype and other software to provide medical advice for their patients.

Traditionalists however fear that video conferencing might not be very effective and that it would be safer and healthier while seeing a patient face to face.