Internet helps doctor get back to basics

He uses a secured server that goes through the web, as he states sometimes folks at work have access to email of others, this way it's done by the patient and nobody else sees the email...he doesn't take insurance, but helps with filling out the forms for reimbursement...BD 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dr. Howard Stark's office is quiet. Very quiet. No patients sit in his waiting room. No receptionist answers the telephone. Stark does not have a receptionist. Stark has moved most of his practice, based in Washington, onto the Internet and he couldn't be happier. Since he started his Web-based service two years ago, he has received 14,000 e-mails.   Stark has some other advantages that other doctors lack -- he does not accept any insurance, public or private, although he will help fill out the paperwork that allows patients to claim reimbursement from their insurers. That freed him up to go solo in his practice, and a few well-placed real estate investments allowed him to go part-time.

He does not charge for answering an e-mail. "You have to come in one time a year for an annual exam," Stark said.  The rest is free -- prescription refills, quick questions about medication, even questions about unusual stings.  "What do I get? A picture of the scorpion that bit the patient in Belize," Stark laughed. "I said, 'it would have been better to send me a picture of your leg."'

But no one has to wait until business hours. "I'll refill your prescription from Barcelona," he said.  How about his lone assistant? Is she overworked?  "I love it. I love it. I love it," Norris-Bell said.

Internet helps doctor get back to basics - Yahoo! News

Reactions: