Where I live they make diabetics see the doctor every three months to get a perscription for medication. I have always said it is a barbaric practi e with no foundation in actual need or good health. Well, because of the virus, I was informed that my insurance has a telemedicine option on their app. I used it today, and it took about five minutes to connect, there was no appointment, no driving, and no waiting in the office. It was a very nice female doctor who was not local, but she took my information and said the pharmacy would contact me shortly to get my home address to deliver to. She finished off by saying that they are always available, not just during Corona times. Guess what, no co pay for the visit since it happened through the insurance companies app on my phone.
I have to say, my doctor just lost 4 visits a year from me. I’m going to look closer at teledoc because there will be a lot of people like me that use their service for the first time over the next few months.
And regular doctors are also adopting Zoom based meetings. I recently had one with my university based doctor and it went fine. I am checking my own blood pressure and vitals . But this goes only so far, I will need labs soon and at my age I am bound to develop new symptoms and conditions.
But no doubt you are right, once people experience telemedicine many will find it is all they need for routine visits. I am unsure who will benefit the most, established practices, insurance companies, TDOC or its competitors. There does not seem to be any moat here, it’s fragmented.
In my state we are also seeing a surge in nurse practitioners getting the ability to prescribe more Rx and operate more independently- not sure whether it’s good medicine or just good politics.
I do not own any TDOC but am thinking about a trial position
The efficiencies of all of the above may help the problem of rationing of medical care. For those with insurance this is now being done via long wait periods for appointments.
Current telemedicine provider in all 50 states as well as a practice within a “legacy” healthcare system in California.
I don’t know what the teledoc model is in terms of provider services: employees? contractors? I think this matters in terms of the “content” of the service provides. Studies suggest that people value convenience more than quality when it comes to healthcare but I suspect that it is not a uniform experience for an individual or between individuals. Example: routine birth control refill may be a matter of convenience whereas the complex treatment issues of diabetes may benefit more from expertise. I would suggest that you look at TDOC in terms of their costs of services and their model of MD/NP recruitment. Are these micro transactions done by a family practice doc as a “side hustle” or do they have deeper, more committed engagement. And to follow up, does it even matter short/long term in term so the company and the stock
In our clinic we have pushed telemedicine technology (via Epic) to all of our patients. We are the providers and we have the content. We now have a working platform for our patients. I don’t see any value add to TDOC in this environment for our organization. Our patients may feel differently at times but we have the relationships and the expertise. TDOC has the platform and some content.
Its kind of like a NFLX vs. DIS+ analogy to me.
Wildcard variable here is what do the payors end up supporting. Convenience/cost/quality are all in play here and it would be great if we could have it all…
Further disclosure - I don’t invest in biotech or healthcare as it is not a free market in the traditional sense. If I knew how to short stocks I would short the snake oil patch of small biotechs with regularity.
Where I live they make diabetics see the doctor every three months to get a perscription for medication.
With Livongo you could track your blood sugar and also have your prescriptions filled. Some companies waive copays.
In our clinic we have pushed telemedicine technology (via Epic) to all of our patients. We are the providers and we have the content. We now have a working platform for our patients. I don’t see any value add to TDOC in this environment for our organization. Our patients may feel differently at times but we have the relationships and the expertise. TDOC has the platform and some content.
I believe that telemedicine is going to be very fragmented just as most healthcare is. The interesting aspect of telemedicine is that it is a strong disruptor in healthcare. On account of covid-19 more and more people are learning to interact remotely and, as you say, convenience is an important driver at least in the less serious conditions. BTW, Zoom is not telemedicine but many telemedicine providers use Zoom.
I have to say, my doctor just lost 4 visits a year from me.
COVID has changed the medical care game.
Primary care will permanently move from an office-based practice to a largely online practice. All primary care physicians will go this way, with or without COVID.
Major changes to the way we live are happening. To expect that we will go back to the way things were in 2019 is a delusion.
🆁🅶🅱 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.