People unable to visit a doctor’s office can now be treated through an online option rolled out by Mercy Northwest Arkansas, said Stephen Goss, president of the health-care system’s Northwest clinics.
Patients are able to contact their doctors by logging into “My Mercy,” a portal found on the health-care system’s website, Goss said. An “e-visit” with their primary-care doctor can be set up from there.
“It streamlines that visit for people who are busy and it is difficult for them to get off work,” Goss said. “It has been a great tool for us.”
Only current patients who are registered on My Mercy can schedule an e-visit, Goss said.
The e-visit is one of many online tools Northwest Arkansas patients are able to use. Both Mercy and Northwest Health System allow patients to check laboratory reports and medical records and refill prescriptions online. Washington Regional Medical Center is in the process of establishing similar options.
Gina Maddox, spokesman for Washington Regional Medical Center, said an online portal will debut in coming months for the health-care network that includes a Fayetteville hospital and several clinics throughout Northwest Arkansas.
“We are excited about the upcoming launch of our patient portal,” Maddox said. “WR Healthlink will allow Washington Regional patients to instantly access their medical records or schedule a clinic visit. If they want to schedule a clinic visit, they can get information about the nearest clinic location, earliest available appointment and even the number of patients who are waiting at each location.”
Mercy launched its My Mercy site in 2008, Goss said. However, it has taken time to roll out all the options available to patients. The e-visit was piloted in 2013. Over time, Mercy has brought on all of its nearly 60 primary-care physicians in the region.
“It is another way for us to be connected to the patient,” Goss said. “We have struggled for a long time to make telephone systems as efficient as possible. We were very anxious to have this tool where folks could carry on some of those communications and not be confounded by an answering system.”
The e-visit starts with the patient paying for the visit with a credit or debit card. The visit costs the same as an office visit, said Jessica Eldred, Mercy spokesman. Insured patients will be charged their insurance copay.
If the patient has to go in for an office visit because the illness is difficult to diagnose online, the e-visit fee will be waived, Eldred said.
The patient also has a restricted amount of illnesses to choose from, Goss said. These include but are not limited to sinus infections, urinary tract infections and upper respiratory infections.
“Right now, there are certain canned diagnoses that we allow it to work for,” Goss said. “We don’t want to take any risk in trying to diagnose.”
The patient will also receive a list of symptoms to choose from while choosing an illness. For example, coughing and sneezing are some symptoms, Goss said.
Matthew Steed, a doctor at Mercy Clinic Family Medicine and Obstetrics in Rogers, said his nurse alerts him when an e-visit is placed for his office. He said he answers the e-visits between patient visits in the office and gets to all of them by the end of the day.
Patients will receive a same-day response from doctors if the request is made before 4 p.m. on a regular business day, according to a news release about the e-visits.
Steed said the e-visit works for patients unable to get to the doctor.
“Maybe you are traveling while you are sick,” Steed said. “You have had multiple urinary tract infections in the past and know the symptoms.”
The e-visit would prevent this person from going to an urgent-care clinic, Steed said.
“This isn’t for every diagnosis,” Steed said. “If there is any question about diagnosis, then we are asking them to come into the office.”
Steed said, overall, patients’ responses to the e-visits have been positive.
Goss said Mercy is determining how to expand the e-visits to more scenarios in the future.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/21/2014