February 29, 2008
 
WASHINGTON — A position paper validating the importance of telemedicine and the role of telephonic medical consults to improve access, lower costs and enhance the quality of healthcare for all Americans has been released today by The Center for Health Transformation (CHT). Co-authored by Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and founder of CHT; Rick Boxer, M.D., healthcare policy analyst; and Byron Brooks, M.D., telemedicine expert, "Telephone Medical Consults Answer the Call for Accessible, Affordable and Convenient Healthcare," articulates the merits of telephonic communications between physicians and patients and substantiates the benefits for consumers, health plans, employers, government and other payers.
 
"Telephone Medical Consults Answer the Call for Accessible, Affordable and Convenient Healthcare," is available for download at http://www.healthtransformation.net/galleries/default-file/ Teladoc.pdf. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)
 
"Americans expect and deserve high quality, accessible health care services," says Speaker Newt Gingrich. "Telemedicine will play an increasingly central role in getting the right care at the right time to individuals and families. Federal, state, and local governments must facilitate the spread of this important option by tearing down barriers to its use."
 
While physicians have relied upon telephone consults for decades as a means of connecting with patients, only recently has the concept been implemented on a national basis. Today, this model addresses illnesses that arise quickly and tend to run a brief course, typically 5-10 days. This approach is particularly effective for acute, routine, episodic, self-limited and minor illnesses. With the use of a freely available portable medical record, these telephonic patient encounters support continuity of patient care and the evolution of a patient's medical home.
 
TelaDoc Medical Services, which currently serves more than 1.2 million members, was used as a model for understanding the concept of telephonic medical consults. The company provides an example for innovators that any free enterprise organization can produce similar results.
 
Success metrics for the telephonic medical consult model include:
 
-- Rapid access to a primary care physician via telephone.
 
-- Telephonic cross coverage to handle acute, episodic, self-limited and minor illnesses
 
-- Fully portable Electronic Health Record (EHR) for both patients and physicians,
 
-- with fully CCR-compliant data structure.
 
-- Availability to patients with pre-existing conditions
 
-- Affordability and price transparency
 
"Healthcare in America has been enhanced by remarkable research to find new answers to age-old medical problems," says Dr. Boxer. "However, potentially the weakest link is that between the doctor and the patient. Telemedicine bridges the gap between theoretical availability and realistic accessibility. By linking the patient to a primary care doctor 24/7/365, telemedicine brings rapid access of health care to the patient with an urgent need."

 Read more at the Center for Health Transformation