|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Health Care in your Inboxby Graciela Gutierrez
A service called eVisits offered through the Baylor College of Medicine's Family Medicine practice adds a consultation with your doctor to the list of things that can be done online. Baylor Family Medicine, a part of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, is taking advantage of the increasingly large role the Internet plays in everyday life by allowing an e-mail to substitute for a visit to your doctor for minor health problems. 
For Stephen Spann, M.D., eVisits add another avenue for delivering high-quality care that is convenient for patients. "It's all about convenience," said Stephen Spann, M.D., Chair of Family and Community Medicine at BCM. "We want to be able to provide for our patients the best we can, and for some patients e-mail is the easiest for them." If a person has a cold, allergies, or even a bladder infection, he or she can write an e-mail describing the symptoms. Through a series of questions, his or her doctor can determine the problem and even order a prescription for the patient to pick up later that day. "This isn't your average e-mail," said Spann, who also holds the Richard M. Kleberg Senior Chair in Family and Community Medicine. "We've always gotten e-mails from patients, but it was sent through their personal accounts. What we wanted was to find something more secure." Security is a priority when people's health records come into play. BCM put into place a secure messaging system to protect patients' privacy. Accessed through the Baylor Family Medicine website, eVisits is a secure electronic communication system that is in compliance with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and ensures the privacy of health information. An eVisit costs $25, and most patients pay this out-of-pocket because insurers have yet to agree to pay for the service. The idea began back in 2002 when Spann was part of a national strategic planning effort that reviewed how family physicians could better serve patients. What they found was that people liked asynchronous ways of communicating. They wanted to be able to send their doctors a message and retrieve it at their own convenience. "What would you rather do, take time off of work to drive to your doctor's office then sit in a waiting room, or send out an e-mail and go on about your day?" Spann asked. Before a patient can use eVisits, he or she must register with the system and create a login. Then, at any time, a patient can check e-mail messages that are maintained on the eVisit system. What would you rather do, take time off of work to drive to your doctor's office then sit in a waiting room, or send out an e-mail and go on about your day? All the eVisit requests are opened and read by clinic staff. These are the same people who answer and direct phone calls in the appointment office at the Baylor Family Medicine Clinic. From there, the messages are directed to the appropriate doctor. "These eVisits are for minor health issues, ones that can be easily diagnosed through questioning," Spann said. "If we feel the issue needs an in-person visit, we'll call up the patient and schedule one." The eVisit program integrates with BCM's electronic health records that allow physicians and nurses to access a patient's medical history from any location. Margaret Hancock, nurse manager for the Baylor Family Clinic, says the two systems work well together and save time for the patient and the doctors. Doctors who are on call but out of the office can have these eVisit messages sent to them. Being able to access electronic medical information from whereever they are helps them to make treatment decisions more quickly. "They can look at the patient's past test results or look at notes from past doctor visits," Hancock said. "They don't have to make a phone call to the office and wait for a nurse or medical staff to look up the information and relay it to them." The system can also be used to send test results to patients. This allows the patient to check his or her e-mail and be able to find answers without having to call the doctor's office. "We are always happy to talk with patients if they have more questions," said Hancock. "We want them to understand what is going on, but sometimes people just want everything fast and at their fingertips. They just want to be able to check their e-mails and keep on truckin'." Communicating with patients is the most important part of health care, said Spann. "The idea is that the best patient care doesn't necessarily have to be in an exam room," he said. "The best patient care is what works best for the patient." |
Best Minds Best MedicineBCM Campaign Seeks to Raise $1 Billion Attracting Stars: McNairs Give $100 Million To Recruit Top Scientists Lester and Sue Smith Gift Tackles Breast Cancer in the Clinic and Lab Two Alumni Share Commitment to Scholarship Support FeaturesTaking Personalized Medicine to New Heights Creating Culture While Building Walls Changing Complexion of Medicine SpotlightClick for your Doctor: New eVisits Trade Exam Room for Inbox Kjersti Aagaard: 2007 Winner of NIH New Innovator Award Getting World-Class Breast Cancer Care...With or Without Insurance James Lupski's Tenacity Founds New Field of Genomic Medicine BriefsBCM Named National Diabetes Research Center The Trash is no Place for Expired Medication Removing Brain Tumors Through the Nose SPORE Spawns New Lymphoma Efforts The Coffee-Cholesterol Connection
|
||
Volume 4, Issue 1, Summer 2008 |
|||
 |
|
BCM Home | BCM Intranet | Privacy Notices | Contact BCM | BCM Site Map © 2005-9 Baylor College of Medicine® |
|
| Last modified: October 7, 2008 |
What do paying bills, shopping and chatting with friends have in common? They all can be done online.