Telemedicine – one in four doctor consultations is an e-consultation
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the rise of telemedicine. TU Zdrowie data shows that e-consultations account for every fourth appointment with doctors across various specialties. Patients are most often seen remotely by internists, family doctors, and pediatricians. This form of contact with doctors is no longer a matter of necessity, but primarily a matter of convenience and faster access to services.
E-consultations, a rarity in Poland even before 2020, have now become a common way of interacting with doctors.
- While it was often necessary to resort to e-consultations during the pandemic as a result of sanitary restrictions, today they are preferred as a convenient alternative to in-patient visits. Both doctors and patients have found that physical contact is not always necessary, especially for follow-ups, for writing prescriptions or obtaining sick leave if there is an infection. Based on our data, we see the rate of e-consultation remaining at a level of around 25% per month - says Teresa Domańska, Director of TU Zdrowie’s Health Insurance Office.
TU Zdrowie launched e-consultations in February 2020, just before the start of the pandemic. Back then, teleconsultations were seen as a tool to make it easier for patients to keep in touch with their doctor, but, as you can see, this form of contact did not convince the insureds yet. For understandable reasons, teleconsultations were used most frequently in April 2020, as almost every second appointment was an e-consultation (48% of all consultations). In the following months, this percentage fell, only to rise temporarily with successive waves of the pandemic, and eventually stopped at an average level of 25% of all consultations.
TU Zdrowie’s data shows that the insureds most frequently schedule e-consultations with internists (65%), family medicine doctors (48%), pediatricians (39%), diabetologists (28%), allergists (21%), and endocrinologists (18%).
- The TU Zdrowie insureds have a choice of both remote and in-patient appointments, and it is entirely up to them to decide which mode of contact they choose. It goes without saying that most appointments require face-to-face contact with the doctor, but, with available e-consultations, the patient can, even before the appointment, agree with the specialist what tests he or she should perform or what documentation to bring to the doctor’s office to speed up treatment - adds Teresa Domańska.
To schedule an e-consultation, all you need to do is log in to the Insured Panel via the mobile app or the website, select the medical specialty and appointment you are interested in. It takes just a few moments to make an appointment. The insured can also call the TU Zdrowie helpline and have the appointment scheduled by a consultant according to the insured’s preferences.
E-consultations are an integral part of the Health Policy and the TeleRefund Policy.
The TeleRefund Policy is a product that opens access to medical services throughout Poland. Tele-consultations are provided cashless by logging on to the Insured Panel and arranging an appointment with a doctor selected for the specialty of your choice. The costs of other services, which can be provided at all medical facilities, are reimbursed according to the reimbursement price list included in the contract. The scope of the TeleRefund Policy mirrors the Health Policy, whereby each insured can not only benefit from remote and in-patient medical consultations on a cash-free basis, but can also undergo diagnostic tests in accordance with their insurance coverage. Independently of the coverage, the ranges of the individual options of the TeleRefund Policy and the Health Policy can be flexibly modified according to the policyholder’s needs and budget. Importantly, the TeleRefund Policy is inflation proof. On the other hand, one of the advantages of both policies is that they can be put in place quickly, which is of great importance in emergency situations and for cost-containment needs.
