NAWILIWILI — It is 2 a.m. and you have a concern about what you are feeling. Starting some time in January, 2009, the answer may be obtained simply by logging on to a computer, or making a telephone call. Hawai‘i
NAWILIWILI — It is 2 a.m. and you have a concern about what you are feeling.
Starting some time in January, 2009, the answer may be obtained simply by logging on to a computer, or making a telephone call.
Hawai‘i Medical Service Association is excited to be the first health plan in the country to partner with American Well and Microsoft on an online health care system which will start in January 2009, states the HMSA Web site.
To kick off the event, HMSA Senior Vice President Mike Cheng and a number of staff members from the HMSA’s main office on O‘ahu invited about a hundred representatives of Kaua‘i employers to a presentation and to answer questions about the program, Tuesday.
According to an overview of the program, residents will be able to interact with physicians immediately from the comfort and privacy of their homes or offices, using Web-based videoconferencing, secure chat and telephone.
One of the benefits of this program is that the system will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, the service is available to all Hawai‘i residents — not just HMSA members.
Through online chats via the Web, or by e-mail or telephone, doctors can review relevant patient information, discuss patient condition and answer questions, prescribe medication, as appropriate, and recommend follow-up care, the Web site states. Hawai‘i residents are able to access both general practitioners and specialists.
Following the session, notes from the conversation can be forwarded to the patient’s primary care physician, and can be kept as an online record for the patient’s reference.
Through the Microsoft HealthVault system, patients can determine what information physicians have access to.
The Web site states that all of the online doctors are part of HMSA’s provider network and patients are guaranteed exceptional care from qualified, local doctors.
For those who are not sure of which doctor to visit, HMSA is available to help simply by answering a few questions, the answers determining which of the available doctors is the best for helping with a concern.
Additionally, the patient is even able to review each doctor’s credentials and offer feedback through patient satisfaction ratings.
One of the benefits to patients in this area is the ability to visit with physicians who have been too far away to visit easily.
Although the HMSA Online Care program is available to any Hawai‘i resident, the program is not free and HMSA is currently working out details regarding services and costs to individual patients.
These rates should become available as the launch date nears.
HMSA is licensing the online system from American Well, a Boston firm that creates and delivers innovative health care communication services to organizations across the country.
American Well’s Online Healthcare Marketplace enables live communication between a consumer and health care provider. This is the technology HMSA is using to provide its Online Care program for its members, providers and the community.
Once the system is operational, there will be no waiting to see the doctor. The doctor will be available anytime, from home or office.
No appointment necessary. No wait. No hassle, an Online Care brochure touts.
For more information on the program as well as an in-depth “Frequently Asked Questions” sections, visit the HMSA Web site at www.hmsa.com. For information on American Well, visit its Web site at americanwell.com, and for information on Microsoft, visit its Web site at microsoft.com
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
