Imagine picking up the phone and calling your doctor — and having her/him answer. Most of us think that this is from days long past or that we’d need to spend thousands of dollars a year out-of-pocket for this type of access.
Believe it or not, this type of access is available now, and at a price that costs less each month than ordering a pizza to be delivered. It’s available through DocTalker Family Medicine (www.doctalker.com), a primary care medical practice that’s gone back to the roots of medicine. When any patient calls the practice, a practitioner will pick up with phone and talk directly to the caller, including nights and weekends.
DocTalker is a patient-driven practice that consults with its patients by same-day-office visits, phone, email, videoconferencing and house calls. About 60% of all consultations for existing patients are done by telemedicine, which treats patients as quickly as possible and that save patient time and money.
In addition to offering primary care services, the practice offers urgent care. Since a practitioner is available in the evenings and on weekends, the practice can take care of almost 80% of issues that typically end up in the ER, but at a fraction of the time and cost. In addition, DocTalker offers chronic care management for most conditions, like hypertension, diabetes, and depression. Since much of the management of these conditions can be done remotely, patients can check in the with doctor by phone or videoconferencing and don’t have to take valuable time off of work or school to come to the doctor’s office.
DocTalker is a direct-pay, or fee-for service, practice that bases its fees on time spent with a practitioner. A 10 minute consultation with the doctor starts at $50. It does not require an up-front membership fee. The practice does not take third-party insurance, but works well with HSAs, FSAs, and does provide a billing statement with ICD-9 codes that can be submitted by the patient to their insurance carrier.
The practice partners with area businesses to offer their employees an on-site company doctor. With DocTalker’s Company Doctor program, a practitioner will come on site on a monthly or quarterly basis, and conduct check-ups, chronic care checks, routine primary care check as well as conduct educational presentations and seminars. In additional to on-site access, employees also will have access to practitioners by phone, email and same-day office visits when they need it. The Company Doctor Program is $25/month/person and gives each employee 60 minutes of time with the doctor, to be used when and where they need it. It is ideal for traveling executives who need to have a problem resolved while on the road.
An award winning practice, DocTalker also has been cited in U.S. News & World Report, Good Morning America, wsj.com, NPR, and the ACP Internist.
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