However many do not want to be bombarded with calls at all hours, have the hassle of setting up a 1900 number or an accountant to organise payment, or worry about keeping track of an e-mail inbox.
And for patients, there is no such thing as nipping to the doctors. For even minor ailments, a trip to the GP, let alone to a specialist, can take a huge chunk out of a working day. Once a patient has travelled, parked and waited, there isn't going to be much change out of two hours. It is almost entrenched in our culture to take a -sickie" or a half day in order to see the doctor and the cost to the community and business is widely either accepted or ignored.
TeleConsult, a start up company in Sydney, has created and launched a system which enables doctors to provide e-mail and phone consultations, including follow-up advice, changes in drug dosages, repeat prescriptions and referrals, test results, and generally deal with patients for whom a face-to-face visit may not be necessary. The differentiator is that TeleConsult handles the entire process, from registering patients and routing calls right through to tracking consultations and the reimbursement of doctors.
The phone system is based on an IVR voice response system. Patients register and request consultations via phone or on the Web site. All that's needed is a credit card number and a password and ID, along with some personal details. If a phone consultation is requested, the TeleConsult system phones the doctor on a nominated phone number, which can be a mobile. If the doctor is not able or ready to take the call at that time, the patient can request a call-back. An SMS is sent to the doctor with the patient's name and preferred time for a call back. This information is stored on the TeleConsult system and is used to connect the doctor when he or she calls back.
Patients can also request a consultation via the Web site using a secure email system, and doctors can then provide advice via secure e-mail and charge a pre-arranged fee.
The TeleConsult service has 50 doctors and 500 patients signed up to it so far, in NSW and across the country, and the company is aiming for 1000 doctors by the end of the year.
CEO Benjamin Rutland established the business last year with his father Jonathan, a thoracic physician who has over 20 years clinical experience treating lung disease. Jonathan Rutland had noticed that increasingly patients wanted to talk to him by phone but it was proving to be a bit of a nightmare. -If I gave my mobile number out to patients I wouldn't get a single other thing done during the day. But I began to think that maybe as doctors we should be facilitating these callers rather than turning them away," he says.
Rutland says he spends perhaps a third of his week in his consulting room, with the rest of his time being spent doing -other things. Ward rounds, teaching, committees, that kind of thing. Likewise a GP would spend some time doing house rounds. Taking calls randomly would drive them mad, so a service which allows us to call patients back at a convenient time is ideal," he says.
The TeleConsult system, he claims, allows doctors to get remuneration for an otherwise frustrating and time consuming part of their job. Doctors pay a one-off $150 registration fee and an annual fee of $50 to use the service. Rutland says doctors on average are charging between $3 and $4 per minute, or between $180 and $300 per hour via the service. TeleConsult takes 30 percent of the phone revenue and 20 percent of the e-mail revenue. There is no cost to the patient to register for the service and no charge if the call is not connected -One doctor charges quite a bit more for out of hours consultations, but he answers calls at two and three o'clock am, which is an excellent service," says Rutland.
It is economical for the patient, says Rutland, because the etiquette of phone calls and e-mail is quite different than a face-to-face consultation. -If a patient comes to the surgery they have to sit in the waiting room, and then the doctor makes polite conversation about the weather, or whatever, whereas it's not being rude whilst on the phone or in an e-mail to get straight to the point," he says.
