"During the 2-year period, 4282 patients were registered for the service. Patients made 2531 online visits, and billings were made for 1159 patients. E-visits were submitted primarily by women during working hours and involved 294 different conditions. Of the 2531 e-visits, 62 (2%) included uploaded photographs, and 411 (16%) replaced nonbillable telephone protocols with billable encounters. The e-visits made office visits unnecessary in 1012 cases (40%); in 324 cases (13%), the patient was asked to schedule an appointment for a face-to-face encounter. "
"By offloading tasks from the 15-minute visit in order to prioritize the patient's agenda, adding group, telephone, and electronic encounters, and reorganizing services with the aim of maximizing the health of a practice's entire patient population, innovative primary care practices could lead primary care out of crisis into an era of renewal."
This article seems to advocate the trend in UK based primary care- but key questions remain unanswered, can trust be transferred from the individual doctor to the team? Does this dilute the 'doctor as drug' benefit?
"A patient-centered communication curriculum can improve student knowledge and skills. While some intervention students perceived that they made too many calls, our data suggest that more calls, an increased sense of patient ownership, and role modeling by clerkship faculty may ensure incorporation and application of skills."
