Telemedicine is far more valuable than folks may think at first glance.

Check out this article from Fierce Health IT written by Ashley Gold for some additional insight on how important Telemedicine has become and how much more important it will be with the rollout for PPACA.  http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/5-reasons-telehealth-will-be-big-part-aca-rollout/2013-07-30#ixzz2bC7qep6y

5 reasons telehealth will be a big part of the ACA rollout.

“Telehealth will be a vital cog in the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, according to a panel of experts speaking at an Alliance for Health Reform event held last Friday in Washington, D.C. The panel outlined several reasons for telehealth's growing importance, including:

• Its ability to create a more "level playing field" for rural providers
• The potential for lower care costs
• Shrinking barriers to implementation
• Its impact on rural pharmacies
• Its ability to extend care”

For the Employer, Telemedicine could actually provide an ROI on the benefits program in many ways. It will reduce time off for employees because the employee can call a Board Certified Doctor and discuss their issues which the Doctor will then evaluate. If the issue does require a visit to the Doctor's Office the employee will know that and schedule such, but if it is something that can be taken care of with a prescription the Doctor can call in a prescription to a local pharmacy which the employee can then pick up and be on the road to recovery that much faster. This would reduce time off from work, increased workload on other employees who may have to pick up the slack, avoid the cost of bringing in a temp to cover the workload, avoid disruption to the daily running of the business and much more.

For the employee and individual Telemedicine could be even more valuable. In Rural areas where it is more difficult to get to the Doctor's office, telemedicine provides virtually immediate answers to determine how severe the symptoms might be and whether or not a Doctor's office visit is actually required. If a Doctor's office visit is not required it saves time off from work, time to travel, time to wait, time to get examined, time to go to the Pharmacy and get the prescription and avoidance of possibly being exposed to other health issues while waiting in the Doctor's office waiting room. It avoids having to pack up the kids and take all of them to the Doctor. For a person who is out of their home area it is extremely convenient as again there is tremendous peace of mind, convenience and virtually immediate answers to questions that could head off further deterioration in health.

Telemedicine saves the cost of a Doctor's office visit, a co-pay for the visit and travel and time to and from the visit.

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