TAKE TWO ASPIRINS AND EMAIL ME IN THE MORNING

Local doctor offers 'virtual office visits' via the Internet
By Maggie Boleyn
Special to the Daily Tribune
Oct 4, 2004

Dr. Paul Ehrmann, founder and medical director of the Family Health Care Center in Royal Oak, is now offering patients "virtual office visits" via the Internet.

Spiderman isn't the only one who knows how to work with webs. Your own doctor may soon be working with the World Wide Web to provide you with a "virtual office visit."

Where doctors once prescribed, "Take two aspirin, and call me in the morning," in future years your doctor may advise you to, "Take your medicine, and e-mail me in the morning."

One local doctor is currently providing just such visits. Dr. Paul Ehrmann, founder and medical director of the Family Health Care Center located on Crooks Road in Royal Oak, is providing patients with visits via the Internet as a convenient way of accessing his practice electronically.

"It is simple," Ehrmann said. "Patients go to the Web site and click on 'virtual office visit.'" Ehrmann then uses a response form from the Web site to respond to a patient's concerns and makes recommendations to help solve the problem.

The cost is $25 per virtual visit and the service can only be used by patients who have had in-person examinations in Ehrmann's medical office. 

The whole process "is pretty self explanatory," said Ehrmann. 

According to his Web site, a good candidate for a virtual visit is the patient who doesn't have the time to leave work for a doctor's visit. However, some conditions are not appropriate for virtual consultations. They include experiencing chest pain, difficulty breathing, or you are bleeding.

Pressed for time
Ehrmann joins other health care professionals across the country and around the world that are using "telemedicine" in their daily practice. Increasing demands on providers' time and the increasing complexity of patient education and treatment have created a demand for creative solutions. Telemedicine is seen as an answer to providing for some of those needs.

For example, in eight outpatient clinics within Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, nurses wheel IV poles equipped with monitors and wireless PDAs into patient exam rooms. They use the technology to record patient vital signs, which are automatically sent to the hospital's electronic medical record system.
In Britain, telemedicine is used successfully for virtual hypertension clinics, where patients monitor their blood pressure. These "visits" have the potential to reduce the number of trips to the doctor while improving blood pressure control.

Since 2001, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has offered an Internet-based learning tool to help its surgeons improve their communication skills with patients. The sessions are conducted via video over the Internet.

"I think it is an excellent way to reach out to patients and offer flexibility for their medical care," Ehrmann said. "At our office we always try to work around the patient."

While these "visits" are certainly convenient, Ehrmann cautions that they are not meant to take the place of the usual office consultation.

"This should be used with great care, making sure patients understand when to use it and why they should use it," Erhmann said.

Established patients planning to use the virtual option are required to fill out a short registration form and provide credit card information over a secure connection. On another page, patients can also register for an e-mail newsletter from Family Health Center.

Earlier this year, researchers studied 53 elderly patients who used a combination of standard home care visits combined with virtual home health care visits, called "TeleHomeCare," and home monitoring. The study demonstrated that TeleHomeCare costs less to provide than standard home care visits and had a positive effect on patient outcomes. The study was published in the Journal of Medical Informatics.

Although the older patients studied showed satisfaction with virtual home care visits, Ehrmann noted that his service is more popular among younger patients.  "It is extremely valuable to younger mobile professionals, who are traveling a lot and may not have time to come in," he said. 

There is also a great potential for growth for the virtual visit.
"As more people in the 'sandwich generation' become aware (of virtual visits), I see it as a help for children helping their aging parents," Erhmann explained.

There are some potential drawbacks to "virtual visits". Obviously, you must have access to a reliable computer. This visit type is available only for a fee, payable at the time service is provided. Emergency conditions are not appropriate. Patients should also verify that the Web site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of your medical information.

However, as doctors begin to take advantage of computer technology, including Web cams, the virtual visit has exciting possibilities for the future in health care.

For more info:
Contact-Family Health Center, 2033 Crooks Road, Royal Oak. Call 248-543-2000