These days we are all worrying about the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. I had this idea while I was thinking about the cost in our current system of having the doctor inserted in the process for a personal connection with the patient at the beginning and the end. We have built into the system and the payment structure an almost mystical reliance on the doctor seeing and touching the patient. It used to make sense. Before there were reliable diagnostic tests an experienced expert was the only reliable way to diagnose problems. Now that is no longer the case but the system has not changed. So to try it a new way I have invented:
MyDoctorIsInIndia.com
The Snail Medicine System:
If you get sick in the USA and you don’t have insurance. The process goes like this:
Call Doctors office for an appointment
Doctor visit for an examination
Order tests
Revisit Doctor for test results, diagnosis and treatment recommendations
Get prescriptions
Total elapsed time two to five days depending on urgency
Total cost without the prescriptions in the range of $250.00
The I-Medicine System
If you get sick in America and you go to MyDoctorIsInIndia.com the process will go like this:
Mail in test kit
Get email from your doctor in India for consultation
Answer email inquiries and receive diagnosis and treatment recommendation
Get prescriptions filled and mailed to you by a pharmacy in Canada.
Total elapsed time two to five days
Total cost without the prescriptions in the range of $75.00
Many of you will say “but we have to see the doctor.” Okay for you but the system above streamlines the process saves money and should be allowed for people who want it. Think of MyDoctorIsInIndia.com as email or text mail. They have some short-comings compared to meetings or telephone calls but are dramatically cheaper. MyDoctorIsInIndia.com is an idea worth trying.
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HEY !, You’re Doctor may not yet be in India, but for a lot of people he is already in Isreal or Mexico. Some of the best hospitals in America are already using radiologists in Isreal. The digital world has become so precise that XRays, CT Scasns, MRIs, etc. can be beamed to Isreal for readings and its going on as we speak. Alhtough the concept of an “offshore doc” is certianly not applicable to all medical applications, I certainly think that for many tests and proceedures, it will make a lot of sense. This idea is merely a subset of the fact that U.S. Healthcare is already going offshore. On one end of the extreme are the fly in vacations for vanity surgery which are currently growing in number. On the other end of the extreme, approximately 30% of all residents of the City of San Diego who have Health Care through their employeers, are covered by a “Mexi-Plan” in which their primary care physician and many of their specialists are in Tijuana.
From Matt B.
I think you are on to a winner in some respects.
The National Health Service over here has been offering a telephone diagnostic service for quite a while and in order to keep people away from Doctors Surgeries who might have swine flu this has been developed to get prescriptions by mail. See: http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/
A couple of thought:
– e-mailing is a good idea as patients often can’t understand Indian doctors’ accents even when face to face.
– Will this idea deprive people in the developing world of doctors? Are there enough
– Billing; how will it work? You will need secure credit cards payments in the US and an agency to pay the doctors in India.
Seeing a doctor when you are sick only exposes the doctor to the illness which is not fair. There should be campaign against it…….
From Arnie S.
We had a presentation at the law school about the legal issues in “medical tourism.” Some of it is voluntary – people looking for affordable care or elective surgeries that insurance won’t cover in the US. The speaker also talked about the possibility that insurance companies will encourage people to go abroad to save money.
Well, there are pros and cons to this idea and as someone else said, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. I certainly don’t want to IM my foot surgery… But for many, many medical situations, cyberspace can absolutely be a powerful healing tool. My biggest concern is around medical malpractice. Having been personally misdiagnosed, I was much happier with a face-to-face with my doc than I would have been with a faceless phone/email doc. And I’m not even talking about lawsuits… I’m talking about health. Good thought, though, Simon!
From Bill D.
I have been looking for a doctor who is in India.
Although I have an excellent doctor at the medical school and enjoy relaxed,
attentive appointments, I long for something different. I’m tired of having
to see a doctor once in awhile — even when it’s costing me next to nothing
as a Medicare beneficiary.
The fact is, I’m wasting billable time driving to the doctor, sitting in the
waiting room, being interviewed by the nurse while she checks my always
vital signs — and then, because my doctor and his colleagues practice the
best medicine available in these parts — I have to wait while my doc
patiently examines me, talks patiently to his patient (me), and makes sure
that I am truly cared for. Why should I be wasting all that time? I could be
making money or goofing off somewhere.
I see the possibility that mydoctorisinindia-com might make a huge
difference in my quality of life. I could stay at home, or sit in a café,
and e-mail with my trusted doc; I might be able to video conference with him
on Skype or a dedicated service just for his or her patients. I could amble
around to local medical labs and testing centers, where the usual
rushing-about types will make sure they whisk me in and out. Knowing that I
will have to sit in a waiting room, I will take preferred reading material.
Since I never have to wait now when seeing my super-relaxed yet always on
schedule doctor (or primary caring physician), I don’t get enough time to
read.
I’m not so sure that mydoctorinindia will find it easy to diagnose
conditions that might require a personal touch or an eyeball up close —
things like a rash, a bump, a swelling or something like feeling dizzy all
the time. Seems like ways to provide mydocinindia with a personal touch
could be an obstacle the new service will have to overcome.
So, you ask, how could this exciting idea be improved? Here are some quick
thoughts:
1. mydoctorisinindiaexceptwhenineedhimnearby-com — a service that deterimes
when mydoctorisinindia-com needs to have you seen by someone who can
actually see you.
2. Video exams and conferencing at beginning and end of doctor’s treatment.
3. Coordination with locally available doctorswhospendsomeoftheirtimeinindia
and spendsomeofehteritimeinmyneighborhood.
4. mydoctorisinindia negotiated prices with my local pharmacy so that I
don’t need to wait for every prescription to arrive from Canada. In fact, I
hate mail-order pharmacies, but still want the financial benefits if I’m
using mydoctorisinindia.
5. I do see onedocwhowasborninindia. I don’t see why that doc would have to
go back to India in order to treat me. Maybe you could work something out.
That’s about it. I’ll watch the WS Journal and MSNBC to hear what happens
next.
From Jeannie S via Joel G.
I think Simon has an interesting idea, but, as I mentioned, it’s already out there. Below are just a few of the sites I pulled up googling “online medical diagnosis.” There are thousands of them. And you don’t have to go to India to get a consultation.
Jeanne
http://www.ccspublishing.com/mddx_index.htm
http://easydiagnosis.com/
http://www.justanswer.com/medical?r=ppc|ga|1|Health|Doctor&JPKW=online%20medical%20diagnosis&JPDC=S&JPST=&JPAD=2721274293&JPAF=txt&JPCD=20090924&JPRC=1&forceexpertdisplay=20297917,19538729,10837554,20192273,14756658,11115704,19824690,1304720,23567909&JPOP=Omar_NewDrTest_F&gclid=CO3BveDZlZ0CFclB5godDVNh1g
http://www.diagnose-me.com/?page=diag&gclid=CJX3ooPalZ0CFWRB5god7xxZug
From Paul D.
It’s a pretty sad day for America when even medical has to be off-shore.
Yo no gusto the world economy.