Photo courtesy of Forbes
Forbes spoke with myphysician360 CEO and co-founder, Angela Fusaro, MD, MBA, to get an idea of the accessibility and affordability that telehealth services can provide not just during the Coronavirus pandemic, but also in the healthcare space as a whole, by offering on-demand video consultations with a physician to diagnose and treat COVID-19 and other common medical illnesses.
“When we looked at a lot of the companies that were out there, they weren’t marrying the diagnostic component with the on-demand video consultation,” Fusaro explained in the article.
The article also listed a number of roles that telehealth companies like myphysician360 can play during a pandemic, including:
- Providing medical care for relatively benign conditions so patients don’t have to go to a doctor’s waiting room where they could catch germs that might be more serious.
- Screening people to see if they are at risk for COVID-19, then referring them to a nearby testing site. The company has built a national database of locations.
- Reaching rural communities through its network of 800 independent pharmacies, which myphysician360 worked with before COVID-19. These communities maybe 30 to 40 miles from the nearest doctor or clinic. Pharmacists could play a role. Just as you get tested at hospitals, clinics, or drive-thru sites, with a doctor’s order, you could get tested at your local pharmacy. For now, there is no FDA-approved home test for COVID-19 that is readily available. myphysician360 continues to work towards this goal.
- Video conferencing combined with diagnostic kits can be a game-changer for delivering care to vulnerable populations.
Fusaro went on to explain that she believes this shift to telehealth isn’t just a phase amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, but will be a lasting effect as the population shifts to a “new normal.”
“Our culture changed after 9/11,” said Fusaro in the article, recalling the first time she went through the new security procedures at the airport and believeing that they would only be temporary. “I think the same is going to happen here. Some of the momentum around telehealth will fall by the wayside, but I do think there will be a new normal. The way we practice health care will never be the same again.”
myphysician360 now offers telemedicine consultations for Coronavirus as well as flu, strep throat, UTI, anemia, birth control and erectile dysfunction. You can visit our product page to view all of our available services, and contact us today if you have any questions about our products or how it works!
