We are committed. We want to develop virtual house calls, but we see that as a phase II that won't be launched until next year, says David B. Snow Jr., executive vice president and chief operating officer at Empire. With the concept of a virtual housecall in mind, Empire approached Healinx, the company that developed the Blue Shield of California system, almost a year ago. But Empire executives still have misgivings. These may dissipate if the closely watched California venture is considered successful.
Snow has two chief concerns.
The other concern is how to structure reimbursement payments. Snow also leans toward a patient payment for emails, instead of reimbursement by the insurer. This is a patient-driven convenience. Otherwise, Snow predicts, email consultations will drive up the cost of health care. Physicians surveyed seemed to believe that patients have no interest in communicating with them online.