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Why do people utilize the
emergency room as their primary care physician? Two reasons — open
access and because no appointment is required.
While an
ER visit may indeed treat medical needs, the reality is
most visits end up being more about peace of mind. Recent
statistics by the Center for Disease Control show a sharp
increase in the number of ER visits combined with a sharp
decrease in the number of true emergencies. That means more
and more people are using the ER as an "after-hours
doctor’s office," especially because many people
don’t establish a relationship with a primary care
physician until they absolutely need to.
Unfortunately,
the access patients get in an emergency room comes at significant
expense with the average ER visit costs three to five times
higher than a regular office visit.
Beyond hitting you, the
consumer in their wallets, these needless ER visits place
a greater demand on the health care system, resulting in
higher health care costs system wide. Health care costs grew
8.3 percent in 2000, 11 percent in 2001, and an estimated
13 percent for the year 2002.
In total, as much as $300 billion
of health care costs are unnecessary, inappropriate and/or
wasteful. Rising health care costs result in higher insurance
costs, making coverage more expensive for groups and for
individuals.
At Secure Telemedicine we believe
that the future of healthcare lies in empowering you, the
patient. No one knows your
healthcare needs as well as you do. We want to put you directly
in touch with a healthcare provider who can work as your
partner to ensure your health and well-being on an ongoing
basis. To achieve this goal, we at Secure Telemedicine
continue to search for the best solutions to deliver ever
more efficient, ever more economical medical care by capitalizing
on the miracle of ever developing telemedicine technologies
using the Internet and various devices in the monitoring
of preventative, maintenance, and long-term/chronic conditions.
Welcome to the future of medicine.
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