Until recently, if you or a loved one required medical attention the only options available were to go to an emergency room, or wait until your primary care physician office could find an appointment during regular business hours. Medical situations would either be addressed immediately (and expensively) in an urgent care setting, or after a long period of waiting in a primary care setting. This leaves a huge gap for those who require medical advice for situations that aren’t urgent enough to burden an already overwhelmed ER staff, but who can’t afford to wait indefinitely for an available appointment.
Physician shortage is already a recurring theme in healthcare industry talk, and health analysts predict that the gap between physician supply and demand will continue to grow over the next decade. Primary care physicians are in particularly short supply, and it can take days or even weeks before patients are able to secure an appointment with their primary care doctor. Even once an appointment is made, the average cost to patients for time spent in the waiting room while waiting for health services is $43 per patient.
An innovative new company is changing the relationship between patients and physicians for the better. Medlanes offers a time-effective, convenient solution for patients who need expert physician advice fast by allowing them to interact with licensed doctors through an online web browser or smartphone app. This online service can be accessed 24/7 from anywhere in the world with internet connection, and all patient information is secured in compliance with healthcare information storage standards. By providing an accessible first point of contact for patients to bring their medical questions, Medlanes is helping to improve patient health outcomes while reducing the physician burnout that often plagues overworked primary care doctors.
Filling In The Gaps Of Healthcare With Mobile Technology
Medlanes was founded on the principle of fast, convenient healthcare that links patients and doctors in a time-effective manner. Patients seeking non-emergency medical solutions are able to connect with top doctors from the convenience of their home, office, or on-the-go with their smartphone. According to the company’s website, there are a number of situations that this online service can be used:
- If you are on vacation and the doctors don’t speak your language
- If it is a weekend and you or a loved one comes down with a fever
- If you just moved to a new area and haven’t found a primary care doctor
- If you need simple medical advice but don’t want to spend hours in an urgent care center or in your physician’s waiting room
- If you want to see a doctor but don’t have the time to take off work during office hours
According to the Medlanes website, the amount of participating physicians seeing patients through their online portal increases every day. Participating physicians are able to offer online services for their patients, who are charged based on how quickly they need an answer and the level of detail they require. For many patients, the cost of the service will be covered by their individual health insurance plans.
On the B2B side, Medlanes makes it simple for medical providers to offer new avenues of patient-centric care through mobile health technology. Any savvy doctor living in this digital age should recognize the advantage of leveraging mobile health (mHealth) technology in order to stay abreast of competition. With Medlanes, physicians and hospital groups can improve patient accessibility and optimize their quality of care in order to improve health outcomes and patient experience, without the typical costs associated with adapting to new technologies.
