Telemedicine takes another step forward, utilizing among other things, the availability of the electronic medical record in the hopes of expanding care access and reducing inappropriate outlays in acute care situations. BC/BS of Western New York is initiating online care later this year. Partnerships will be forged with other insurers and Mass.-based medtech company American Well; the latter integrated with the EHR provider Microsoft Health Vault.

In a typical encounter, a patient will visit the online care Web site and choose from a list of available doctors, whose names will be accompanied in many cases by video introductions from the physicians, professional information and patient ratings.

It’s about time prospective patients use the webcam for something productive. | LINK

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