Monday, September 26, 2016 10:17:28 AM
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Homemedy.com Brings Back Doctors Making House Calls
By Peter Lucas - September 23, 2016 16
In the days of black-and-white TV it was common for doctors to treat sick patients in their homes. A startup aims to revive the practice in the internet age.
Southern Home Medical Solutions Inc. has developed Homemedy.com, an online platform that lets patients request house calls, as a way to stimulate a more personal relationship between patient and physician, the company says.
“The nature of the relationship between patient and doctor is less personal today,” says CEO Miquel Dotres. “Using technology to help facilitate house calls can help reverse that trend.”
Patients can log on to Homemedy.com to schedule in-home visits with a range of physicians, including those specialized in pediatrics, internal medicine and family practice. They can also book a visit by a licensed nurse practitioner. Homemedy.com will launch in Port Charlotte, Fla., in the first quarter of 2017 and later expand to Miami and Jacksonville.
Southern Home Medical is targeting these markets because they have large populations of seniors and families likely to welcome house calls from doctors or nurse practitioners, Dotres says.
“Our platform provides consumers an opportunity to reduce travel and wait times at a doctor’s office and receive care in a comfortable and personal setting,” Dotres says.
Patients logging on to Homemedy.com or using the Homemedy mobile app can find doctors and schedule appointments. After an in-home visit, the service will provide patients an electronic summary of the doctor’s notes, which can be downloaded and shared with their primary care physician.
If follow-up procedures such as for blood tests or x-rays are required and can’t be performed at the patient’s home, the attending practitioner can schedule an appointment for the service at another location or make a patient referral. Patient billing for Homemedy.com is handled through another Southern Home Medical subsidiary.
While most doctors don’t make house calls, Homemedy.com is likely to appeal to medical group practices looking to expand patient services without incurring the expense of setting up and staffing another location, the company says. Homemedy.com is currently recruiting physicians in Florida, but declines to reveal the number of practitioners signed so far.
Homemedy.com plans to charge patients a $99 flat fee per visit. Homemedy.com will receive 10% to 15% of that fee. In comparison, visiting a doctor’s office visit can cost $150, Dotres says. The company will also charge additional fees when patients use its platform for other services, such as filling an online prescription, which doctors can order at the time of the visit.
Plans are also in the works to introduce a line of wearable devices connected to Homemedy.com for tracking blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate and other vital signs. The devices are still in the development stage and expected to range in price from $100 to $350, depending on the functionality. Data gathered through the devices can be shared with a patient’s doctor through the Homemedy.com. Southern Home Medical is developing the devices with CES Technology Ltd., a healthcare technology development company based in Taiwan. Southern Home acquired CES for an undisclosed sum in August.
Southern Home Medical Solutions provides medical staffing, such as certified nurses, billing and customer service representatives, and equipment to doctor’s offices, clinics, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.
https://www.internethealthmanagement.com/2016/09/23/homemedy-com-brings-back-doctors-making-house-calls
Homemedy.com Brings Back Doctors Making House Calls
By Peter Lucas - September 23, 2016 16
In the days of black-and-white TV it was common for doctors to treat sick patients in their homes. A startup aims to revive the practice in the internet age.
Southern Home Medical Solutions Inc. has developed Homemedy.com, an online platform that lets patients request house calls, as a way to stimulate a more personal relationship between patient and physician, the company says.
“The nature of the relationship between patient and doctor is less personal today,” says CEO Miquel Dotres. “Using technology to help facilitate house calls can help reverse that trend.”
Patients can log on to Homemedy.com to schedule in-home visits with a range of physicians, including those specialized in pediatrics, internal medicine and family practice. They can also book a visit by a licensed nurse practitioner. Homemedy.com will launch in Port Charlotte, Fla., in the first quarter of 2017 and later expand to Miami and Jacksonville.
Southern Home Medical is targeting these markets because they have large populations of seniors and families likely to welcome house calls from doctors or nurse practitioners, Dotres says.
“Our platform provides consumers an opportunity to reduce travel and wait times at a doctor’s office and receive care in a comfortable and personal setting,” Dotres says.
Patients logging on to Homemedy.com or using the Homemedy mobile app can find doctors and schedule appointments. After an in-home visit, the service will provide patients an electronic summary of the doctor’s notes, which can be downloaded and shared with their primary care physician.
If follow-up procedures such as for blood tests or x-rays are required and can’t be performed at the patient’s home, the attending practitioner can schedule an appointment for the service at another location or make a patient referral. Patient billing for Homemedy.com is handled through another Southern Home Medical subsidiary.
While most doctors don’t make house calls, Homemedy.com is likely to appeal to medical group practices looking to expand patient services without incurring the expense of setting up and staffing another location, the company says. Homemedy.com is currently recruiting physicians in Florida, but declines to reveal the number of practitioners signed so far.
Homemedy.com plans to charge patients a $99 flat fee per visit. Homemedy.com will receive 10% to 15% of that fee. In comparison, visiting a doctor’s office visit can cost $150, Dotres says. The company will also charge additional fees when patients use its platform for other services, such as filling an online prescription, which doctors can order at the time of the visit.
Plans are also in the works to introduce a line of wearable devices connected to Homemedy.com for tracking blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate and other vital signs. The devices are still in the development stage and expected to range in price from $100 to $350, depending on the functionality. Data gathered through the devices can be shared with a patient’s doctor through the Homemedy.com. Southern Home Medical is developing the devices with CES Technology Ltd., a healthcare technology development company based in Taiwan. Southern Home acquired CES for an undisclosed sum in August.
Southern Home Medical Solutions provides medical staffing, such as certified nurses, billing and customer service representatives, and equipment to doctor’s offices, clinics, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.
https://www.internethealthmanagement.com/2016/09/23/homemedy-com-brings-back-doctors-making-house-calls
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