Virtual Consultations

When I talk with people about using American Well or some other type of service, I continually get two very good questions which point to a next generation offering (I think).

• How can they get my vitals – temperature, blood pressure, etc.?
• Can they write a prescription?

For the first question, there is a logical future state where we have home devices for these things that are wirelessly connected to our PC and data can be captured and pulled back to the consulting professional (i.e., doctor, nurse, pharmacist).

For the second question, I think it is more complicated. A prescriber can write a prescription today without seeing you. But, they traditionally have data available from looking up your nose or feeling your throat or listening to your cough. There is a fine line to walk between self-diagnosis and prescribing off limited information. This is especially true when the physician is only seeing the patient for the first time and has no history.