With winter come a number of trials: snowstorms, icy roads, school closings, high heating bills and, finally...the dreaded seasonal flu. The CDC expects about 160 million cases of flu in the U.S. during this year's flu season, and about 200,000 hospitalizations. While the flu can be dangerous to some -- the very young, the very old or the immuno-compromised -- for most people, it's a matter of lots of fluids, lots of rest and time to heal. Physicians, emergency rooms and health care clinics dread the onslaught of flu season; every year, millions of people crowd into waiting rooms, only to be sent home with advice for rest and hydration, and perhaps a prescription.
The flu costs the nation a great deal of money, not only in healthcare, but in missed work and school, and healthcare costs have only been escalating. Seasonal flu costs hospitals, clinics and insurance companies a great deal as well, and the healthcare industry has for years sought a way to cut down on the number of doctor and clinic visits by flu sufferers.
To that end, telemedicine services and technology company Consult A Doctor has announced the launch of FLUHOTLINE24/7, a resource that will help connect people in all 50 states with board certified physicians that can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications, if appropriate, for the flu over the phone, cutting down on expensive office visits, according to a press release.
How does it work? People experiencing flu-like symptoms have two options: call 1-855-DOC-4FLU or visit www.FLUHOTLINE247.com. The patient (or parent of the patient) is then connected with a certified physician in real-time. A Consult A Doctor physician will then conduct a brief consultation via phone. Patients requiring medication will be taken through a thorough medical intake and, if warranted, the doctor can provide a prescription for anti-viral or other medications. The service is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
The process not only saves time and money, but it keeps people contagious patients out of public areas, lowering the risk that the virus will be spread from person-to-person. Consult A Doctor, which follows CDC-approved practices, says a typical consultation on FLUHOTLINE24/7 takes just minutes and costs under $40, regardless of insurance status.
“Until now, concierge medicine has been something few people could obtain. When we are sick, we typically have to get in our cars and drive ourselves to our primary physician's office – if we have one. If not, our options are quite limited and usually entail spending most of a day at the local ER, wasting time and spending hundreds of dollars,” said Wolf Shlagman, Founder and CEO of Consult A Doctor. “With telemedicine services, this entire process changes. Patients can obtain affordable, quality medical care without ever leaving their home. This is especially important when dealing with a pandemic like the flu as it insulates physicians, patients and the general public from exposure to germs.”
From the patient's perspective, it's a way to save money...and stay in bed.
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Dave Rodgriguez is Editor-in-Chief of HealthTechZone. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
