Need to see a doctor? There’s an app for that

Sherri DeHaas makes house calls without ever leaving her house.

The family doctor puts on her white coat, sits down at the desk in her Vermont home in front of a computer monitor and starts seeing her patients — virtually.

She’s one of the doctors available via Tampa General Hospital’s Virtual Care app. Patients can use their computers, tablets or smartphones to teleconference with a doctor.

Welcome to the telemedicine industry’s fastest growing line of services: onetime, on-demand visits with physicians 24 hours a day, seven days a week via phone, video or email.

BayCare Health System recently launched its own app that residents in the Tampa Bay, Fla., area can use, BayCare Anywhere.

“We’ve clearly passed the tipping point of this,” said American Telehealth Association CEO Jonathan Linkous. “It’s going into private practice as well.

“If your doctor doesn't have this available, you need to find one who does. Why would you want a bank that doesn't offer an ATM?”

The association estimates that last year about 1 million people had virtual doctors’ appointments, and it projects 30 percent growth this year.

Video calls are the latest development in the growing field of telemedicine, which is any tool that allows doctors to exchange records or diagnose patients electronically .

The apps have limits, however. They’re not designed to treat serious conditions or medical emergencies. Rather, they can offer patients a convenient alternative to treat minor ailments.

Tampa General was the first in the bay area to enter this growing market about four months ago; BayCare followed soon behind in July. Both apps were developed with American Well, a telehealth provider that provides communications systems for hospital systems across the country.

Anyone can use the app — even those who don’t live in Florida or whose doctors don't work for Tampa General or BayCare. Both charge a flat-rate: Virtual Care is $49 and BayCare Anywhere is $45.

As of July, Tampa General said 2,319 people had signed up for the app and 395 had doctors’ visits, or “e-visits.” The average user, according to Tampa General senior vice president Michael Gorsage, is a woman under the age of 50 using a smartphone.

Although the apps have obvious appeal to a generation of young users already comfortable with services and apps such as Uber, Mr. Linkous said virtual medical appointments have the potential to appeal to a broader audience.

Older patients, for example, are already used to being able to call their doctor at night if they have a question.

“The range of ages who are calling is across the map,” Mr. Linkous said. “For millennials, it’s certainly a no-brainer. But for people who are older, it’s a no-brainer, too.”

Mr. Gorsage said the goal of the Virtual Care app is to make obtaining basic health care more accessible: A video chat with a doctor while in bed with the flu is easier than coughing in a waiting room while waiting to see a physician.

“Telehealth or telemedicine was never designed to replace the relationship with your primary care physician,” Mr. Gorsage said.

Both apps tap into a network of doctors provided by American Well. BayCare's physicians are available through its app. Tampa General hopes to soon add its own doctors to its app.

Users can use the services via a website or download the app. They register an account and enter a credit card. When they login, they'll see which doctors are available immediately, or how many people are waiting for a specific doctor. Patients aren't charged until they see the doctor.

But what ailments should be treated virtually? Patients and doctors need to figure that out together “using common sense,” said Jay Wolfson, a health law and public health professor at University of South Florida.

Doctors who talk to patients online know there's not much they can do for a bad cut or a broken bone. But for a patient who lives far from a hospital, say in a rural area, that virtual consult could help spur them to go to the doctor or hospital.