Many payers cover Telemedicine, but payments for e-visits remain in infancy

Physician Compensation Report,  June, 2003  

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While RelayHealth "is in talks with most major payers" in the country, especially Blues plans, about setting up e-visit programs, Zimmerman says that the firm's main customers at this point are large medical groups. The groups pay the firm about $50 per month per physician to use the WebVisit routines. About 5,000 physicians are registered under these contracts, he notes.

The company's software "is all about physicians getting paid" for e-visits, because that is essential to the development of this form of health care, he says. The software enables groups to bill not only payers, but also patients.

Two other firms in this field are Medem, a company backed by the AMA, and Dallas-based HealthyEmail. Several health systems, including MedStar Health in the Washington, D.C., area, also offer such services. Most of these entities' routines allow physicians to bill patients for e-visits. According to the Washington Post, some physicians in the Washington and Baltimore areas have begun charging their patients for e-visits--usually about $30.

Another key business question besides getting paid for e-visits, Bard says, is the time that many e-mails can take to review and answer. So far, the physicians using email in their practice "use it for certain patients for certain reasons, such as follow-up, general medical questions, refills, or to discuss symptoms and treatment options," he adds. The time spent on e-mail is partially offset by phone time saved.

Contact VanDerWerf at (978) 937-9021 or markv@amdtelemdecine.com, Linkous at (202) 223-2783 or jlinkous@americantelemed.org, Bard at (800) 603-6032 or mbard@manhattanresearch.com, Joyner at (415) 229-5025, Leahy at (617) 246-4823, and Zimmerman at (866) 735-2963 or eric.zimmerman@relayhealth.com.

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