Dr. Farzanna S. Haffizulla
Dr. Robert Wergin, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said the apps have a niche role in offering convenient access to primary care. But as with urgent care centers and retail health clinics, Dr. Wergin said the downside is the lack of relationships and the disjointed care.
The high cost to patients is also a negative, he said.
“I think as a business model for episodic care, there might be a limited role for it,” Dr. Wergin said.
The emergence of convenience apps like these highlight the need for primary care physicians to not only create greater access to their practices, but to let patients know about it, Dr. Wergin said.
Many patients who go to retail clinics don’t realize that most family physicians have same-day appointments, he said. A 2013 AAFP survey found that 80% of their members offered same-day appointments, 51% provided extended office hours, and 34% had weekend appointments.
And physician practices may be able to mimic the convenience of using an app soon, Dr. Wergin said, as patient portals become more advanced and more commonly used.
Constance F. Row, executive director of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine, predicted that the house call apps, like urgent care centers, will need to gradually link to health systems, building systems for referrals, labs, and imaging.
“What we’re seeing is people starting down a path that has been well trod in the fixed-site urgent care center model,” Ms. Row said. “They are taking it on the road. And the question that I have is really are they going to evolve in the same way that the urgent care center movement has?”
Unless the apps stick solely to a population of young, healthy patients with only episodic care needs, they will need to develop relationships with other providers, she said, or risk losing business.
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
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