The following is a list of patient frequently asked questions related to Secure Messaging and Online ConsutlationTM.
- What is an Online Consultation?
- What is Secure Messaging?
- What types of messages can I send using Secure Messaging?
- What are some of the uses of Online Consultation?
- What’s wrong with regular email for communicating with my physician?
- Is there anything that I should avoid using an Online Consultation for?
- What is the difference between an Online Consultation and a general message that I can send using Medem’s Secure Messaging service, and how do I use each?
- Is an Online Consultation communication directly with my physician? Is he/she the one that responds?
- How do I get permission from my physician to do Online Consultation with him/her?
- Can I do an Online Consultation for someone other than myself, like my child, my spouse or my elderly parent?
- Who sets the charge for an Online Consultation?
- Is there any way to do an Online Consultation without a credit card?
- Will my health plan or my employer reimburse me for an Online Consultation?
- How is Online Consultation cost effective for me?
- How secure is Medem’s Online Consultation messaging service?
- How secure is the handling of my credit card information?
- What should I do if I don’t hear back from my physician in the designated period of time on an Online Consultation?
- Can I communicate back and forth with my physician in an Online Consultation until all of my questions are answered?
- How do I submit additional information that I forgot to include after I have sent an Online Consultation?
- What if I think I should not be charged after I receive my physician’s reply?
- What do I do when I have submitted an Online Consultation and then change my mind before I receive my physician’s response?
- What happens if I am in the midst of an Online Consultation and I lose my Internet connection? Am I charged?
- Will Medem store copies of the Online Consultations I have with my physician?
- Do I have to print all of the Online Consultations I have with my physician?
- How do I change my personal email notification address for Online Consultation?
- How do I get year-end accounting and receipts for all my Online Consultations?
- What is anOnline Consultation?
An Online Consultation (OC) is a medical consultation, or answer to a medical question, provided to you by your physician using Medem’s online Secure Messaging service, for which your physician receives payment. The payment will come from you, if you elect to use this optional service, unless your health plan or employer reimburses for Online Consultations.
- 2. What isSecure Messaging?
Secure Messaging is a service, provided by your physician, that allows you to communicate with him/her electronically, in a secure and private manner.
- 3. What types of messages can I send usingSecure Messaging?
There are two basic types of messages you can send with Secure Messaging:
- Administrative questions (appointment requests, prescription renewals and general questions)
- Online Consultation is for specific clinical issues related to your healthcare.
- 4. What are some of the uses ofOnline Consultation?
The Online Consultation service should be used for clinical but non-emergency questions you have for your physician that don’t require a face-to-face visit or a physical exam. Questions about medication, treatment or diagnostic alternatives can, at times, be better addressed through an Online Consultation where a physician has many patient education and reference materials at his/her fingertips and patients read and review the written answers to their questions. For example:
- My child has had recurring ear infections. Are “tubes” for his ears an option and, if so, what are the benefits and the risks?
- Given my family history of breast cancer, should I be on hormone replacement therapy? What are the reasons for and against?
- I just turned 50 and wanted to know if I should get a colonoscopy. What are the pros and cons and what are the alternatives? Does “dark-lumen colonography” work?
- 5. What’s wrong with regular email for communicating with my physician?
Standard email does not live up to state and federal laws for patient privacy nor does it conform to medical liability carrier guidelines. It is not encrypted nor password protected and often uses employer-sponsored email networks thereby making the messages the property of the employer. You would not trade stocks, pay bills or even buy a book online using standard email. Your communications with your physician are too important and private to risk on standard email. You will, however, receive notifications in your regular email account when you have received a secure message from your doctor or his/her office. The message will contain a link that allows you to directly access your secure message from your physician so you will not have to check more than one email account to find all of your messages.
- 6. Is there anything that I should avoid using anOnline Consultationfor?
Medem’s Secure Messaging services, including Online Consultation, should not be used for emergency, urgent, high-sensitive or high-risk healthcare issues. Subjects of concern may include treatment for, or information regarding, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), mental health issues, substance abuse, etc. Specific topics to avoid should be worked out directly with your physician.
- 7. What is the difference between anOnline Consultationand a general message that I can send using Medem’s Secure Messaging service, and how do I use each?
Medem provides for the creation of templates physicians can use for frequently asked administrative and health-related questions; allows physicians to add links directing patients to Medem’s Medical Library of medical society-provided content; offers integrated charge capture/billing; and features other tools that make secure online communications safer, more comprehensive, and more convenient for both patients and physicians.
- 8. Is anOnline Consultationcommunication directly with my physician? Is he/she the one that responds?
An Online Consultation comes from your physician. He/she is the one who receives, writes and approves responses to OC requests.
- 9. How do I get permission from my physician to doOnline Consultationwith him/her?
If your physician has not talked with you about OC or Secure Messaging, and you would like to use the service with him/her, you should bring it up in your next communication with the office. To facilitate this communication, you should go to your physician’s Web site on the Medem Network and register as a patient. This will notify the practice that you are interested in using their online services.
- 10. Can I do anOnline Consultationfor someone other than myself, like my child, my spouse or my elderly parent?
Yes. The form for completing an Online Consultation allows you to identify and communicate with the physician regarding a patient other than yourself, assuming that you are the patient’s guardian, or otherwise have legal permission to communicate on the patient’s behalf, and have previously established this relationship with the physician.
- 11. Who sets the charge for anOnline Consultation?
The charge for an OC is determined and set by your physician.
- 12. Is there any way to do anOnline Consultationwithout a credit card?
Not at this time. A valid credit card must be entered and approved in order to complete an Online Consultation.
- 13. Will my health plan or my employer reimburse me for anOnline Consultation?
Some health plans and some employers are paying for online consultations. Most do not. You should contact your health plan or employer to determine/confirm whether an Online Consultation is a covered service. You may, however, be reimbursed for an Online Consultation from a Medical Flexible Spending Account if your employer offers this benefit.
- 14. How isOnline Consultationcost effective for me?
When you add up all the costs of a visit to your physician (1-2 hours lost from work/other activities, gas, and other out-of-pocket travel expenses, your health plan co-pay, etc), the cost of an office visit may far exceed the cost of an Online Consultation.
- 15. How secure is Medem’sOnline Consultationmessaging service?
Medem’s Online Consultation service provides authentication, encryption and other security and privacy measures, making the service compliant with the government’s proposed HIPAA guidelines and the medical liability carrier guidelines that address the handling and security of patient information.
- 16. How secure is the handling of my credit card information?
A critical concern for electronic payment and commerce is the secure transmission of data. To protect consumer data during transmission Medem has hired VeriSign, the national leader in Internet security, to protect your credit card data.
- 17. What should I do if I don’t hear back from my physician in the designated period of time on anOnline Consultation?
Any time you have a concern regarding online communication with your physician or his/her office you should call or contact the office as you would have done prior to using online communications.
- 18. Can I communicate back and forth with my physician in anOnline Consultationuntil all of my questions are answered?
Yes. The OC service is designed for you to submit a question to your physician and for your physician to provide you with a response. It is important for you to provide as much information as possible to your physician, to protect you, as well as your physician, from potential to miscommunication. If you or your physician has a clarification question related to an Online Consultation, he/she may reply to you and may not charge you for this additional information. However, your physician determines whether a fee is appropriate with each Online Consultation.
- 19. How do I submit additional information that I forgot to include after I have sent anOnline Consultation?
It is important to be thorough in your communication with your physician. If you feel that your additional information is important before or after you have received your physician’s response, you can open a new consultation. As indicated above, your physician has the ability to “no-charge” after reviewing a consultation request.
- 20. What if I think I should not be charged after I receive my physician’s reply?
If you are not satisfied with your physician’s reply, and you have been charged for the consultation, you should discuss this directly with your physician.
- 21. What do I do when I have submitted anOnline Consultationand then change my mind before I receive my physician’s response?
You should call your physician’s office and advise them that you wish to recall the Online Consultation. Assuming that your physician has not yet responded, they may “no-charge” you.
- 22. What happens if I am in the midst of anOnline Consultationand I lose my Internet connection? Am I charged?
Until your physician receives and accepts your Online Consultation, you will not be charged. You will be notified at your regular email address each time a request for Online Consultation has been successfully submitted on the Medem Network.
- 23. Will Medem store copies of theOnline ConsultationsI have with my physician?
Medem is a communications service provider — a utility like the phone company — and as such will not store copies of the Online Consultation communications you have with your physician. It is your responsibility to ensure that you maintain copies of your Online Consultations. Your physician will do the same, and your Online Consultations should become part of your medical record.
- 24. Do I have to print all of theOnline ConsultationsI have with my physician?
Medem recommends that you maintain copies of all of your medical records. Your OC communications with your physician should become part of your medical record. If you need copies of your Online Consultations and for some reason you do not have them, you should contact your physician’s office.
- 25. How do I change my personal email notification address forOnline Consultation?
At any time, you can change your email notification address by going to your physician’s Web site, logging in with your User ID and password, and then clicking on “Update My Profile”. All of the information that you submitted to your physician during online registration when you first registered on the Web site can also be changed via this “Update My Profile” link.
- 26. How do I get year-end accounting and receipts for all myOnline Consultations?
Medem provides a “print receipt” function for you so that you can keep Online Consultation receipts that do not have the actual physician-patient messages on them. You are responsible to keep copies of your Online Consultation receipts throughout the year if you need them.