PrintEmail
Comment
Dial a Doc
Posted by Marisa Belger on February 2, 2006 - 1:32pm.

Medical care is now only a phone call away. TelaDoc Medical Services gives call-in patients medical advice and prescribes medication 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The convenience is undeniable and the cost affordable – $35 a call—but not everyone is a fan.

The Dallas-based company has been criticized by The American Academy of Family Physicians, The American Medical Association and The Medical Board of California among others.

Dr. David Goldstein, of USC’s Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics, told the LA Times that TelaDoc is “totally unethical and inappropriate.”

TeleDoc says that while it is not trying to replace primary care physicians, it is able to assist patients with 75% of the issues that necessitate a visit to the doctor.

To get around the state-by-state-medical-license issue TelaDoc has contracted with doctors in every state. For the ones that require a face-to-face examination, TelaDoc will send a technician to check temperature, blood pressure and weight and to conduct a videotaped interview for the doctor's review.

[via LA Times]



Related Shop Items


Login or register to post comments

User login


Join Lime Now, it's free

Meet New People

Micaela Devaney (View Profile)

Interests: Anything with an ING: dancing, biking, listening, talking, writing, reading, watching, eating, drinking, running, thinking, working, dreaming, surrendering, laughing, smiling, acting, traveling, singing, surfing, driving, shopping, thanking, observing, welcoming, connecting, loving, learning, sharing, practicing, asking. I love supermarkets in other places, lyrics to songs, seeking out gluten free food, responding to questions and surveys, finding deals and bargains, doing public relations for anyone/anything I believe in, good conversation, sociological observation, the beach, early mornings, condiments and spices, vitamins and minerals, alternative medicine, nutrition, holistic health, fitness gum, coffee drinking, gun chewing and sitting in the steam room.
Inspiration: Books: Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke Music: Linkin Park and The Cure People: My mother and all of those that have come before me that have fought their own battles and didn't give up. Places: Carl Schurz Park, New York, NY Movies: In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Stealing Beauty, Beautiful Girls, When A Man Loves a Woman, In America, Magdelene Sisters, The Notebook, Run Fat Boy Run Things: Causes worth fighting for: Lupus and other auto-immune disorders, Organ Donation and impoverished and at-risk youth.

More new members | Create your profile