When you're coming down with flu, there are a few items you usually reach for to start feeling better: cough drops, herbal tea, and maybe an over-the-counter medication.
For some people, a smartphone wouldn't top or even come close to that list. However, that may change as health care companies are continuously steering customers toward streaming video apps that connect patients with doctors online.
The shove toward virtual health care develops as many primary doctors are over-booked and patients battle with their own busy schedules. At the same time, insurers and employers finds an opportunity to save money by reducing pricier visits to doctors' offices and urgent care clinics. Outsourcing care is not something new. In rural and hard to reach areas, doctors have long relied on telephone and video connections to consult with specialists far away.
But this year, the American Telemedicine Association industry group is estimating that there will be at least 450,000 patients who will see a doctor over the Internet for basic illnesses like colds, infections or aches and pains. Here are some key questions and answers about these virtual visits:
Q: How do these services work?
Q: If this technology isn't new, why am I hearing about it now?
Dr. Jonah Feldman, a health care delivery specialist at Winthrop University Hospital said that the ability to have a doctor to see you within minutes from your phone is something that people can really value.