Medical Providers Can Diagnose, Prescribe Treatment via Secure Portal
Sometimes when you’re feeling sick, you don’t feel like going anywhere. ThedaCare’s e-Visits allow patients to receive a diagnosis and a treatment plan without ever leaving their home.
During an e-Visit or an electronic visit, patients log on to their MyThedaCare private web account, select what they want to be “seen” for, and answer several questions specific to their ailment. Patients can use an e-Visit for the following non-emergency conditions:
- acne
- pinkeye
- diaper rash
- influenza
- lice
- seasonal and environmental allergies
- sinus illness
- urinary tract infections
- stomach flu
- vaginal yeast infections
Within two hours, they’ll get a response from a physician through MyThedaCare, including a plan of care and a prescription if needed.
An e-Visit costs $35, which is less than a clinic visit.
“The e-Visits are convenient for patients since they can receive a diagnosis and a treatment plan without ever leaving their home and don’t have to worry about being available at a set time to see their medical provider,” said Zachary Baeseman, MD, a family medicine physician with ThedaCare Physicians-Waupaca. “It’s also a lower cost alternative than a clinic visit.”
During the e-Visit, physicians access the patient’s electronic medical record to review current prescriptions and drug allergies as well as past history. The physician also enters information about the e-Visit into the record. The service is available from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for patients of all ages.
ThedaCare’s e-Visit is different from other similar available options because a ThedaCare provider responds to the request, Dr. Baeseman said. “It’s not a doctor in some far away city that just reads your description and shoots off a diagnosis,” he said. “This is someone who has access to all of your medical records and is from your community. Best practices tell us that it’s ideal if the patient’s primary care team is the one responding to the e-Visit. There’s a history there that the physician can rely on.”
If a prescription is needed, medical staff will send it directly to the patient’s preferred pharmacy.
“We’ve had patients of all ages using e-Visit and it’s been successful,” Dr. Baeseman said. “When someone is not feeling well, the last place he wants to be is sitting in a waiting room so being able to receive a diagnosis from home is a big benefit. There’s also less risk of the person spreading their illness – if it’s contagious – if he stays home.”
e-Visits are available to ThedaCare patients who have a primary care physician. If current patients do not have a MyThedaCare account, they can contact their physician’s office and get an access code to set up the free, secure account. Patients can use MyThedaCare to send messages to their doctor’s office, request prescription refills, schedule appointments, view test results and access their medical history.
For more than 100 years, ThedaCare™ has been committed to finding a better way to deliver serious and complex healthcare to patients throughout Northeast Wisconsin. The organization serves over 200,000 patients annually and employs more than 6,800 healthcare professionals throughout the region. ThedaCare has seven hospitals located in Appleton, Neenah, Berlin, Waupaca, Shawano, New London and Wild Rose as well as 34 clinics in nine counties. ThedaCare is the first in Wisconsin to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network Member, giving our specialists the ability to consult with Mayo Clinic experts on a patient’s care. ThedaCare is a non-profit healthcare organization with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs as well as a foundation dedicated to community service. The ThedaCare Regional Cancer Center in Appleton opened in February. For more information, visit www.thedacare.org or follow ThedaCare on Facebook and Twitter.
