Doctors looking to diagnose H1N1 over the phone

[B.C.]

Doctors looking to diagnose H1N1 over the phone

BCMA say it could prevent the spread of the virus

Amanda Wawryk VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) | Friday, September 25th, 2009 7:14 am

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Instead of making the trek to a medical clinic, doctors want to diagnose you with H1N1 over the phone. The B.C. Medical Association says it would be a way to prevent the spread of the virus.

BCMA President Dr. Brian Brodie says members would want to be paid a fee of about $15 from the province - which is about half the cost of an office visit. Doctors say cost isn't the only benefit, the diagnosis-by-phone would avoid up a packed office where other people could possibly pick up the virus.

A report in today's Vancouver Sun talks about presenteeism - where people show up to work no matter how sick they are, something that doesn't bode well as we're trying to contain the spread of the virus. Meantime, the smell of hand sanitizer isn't too uncommon in churches these days and even some priests are even taking time during their sermons to remind parishioners of good hygienic practices.

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/more.jsp?content=20090925_101010_7012

 

[B.C.]

Re: Doctors looking to diagnose H1N1 over the phone

VANCOUVER ? The B.C. Medical Association wants its member physicians to be paid a fee by the provincial government for phone consultations involving potential H1N1 influenza cases.

BCMA president Dr. Brian Brodie says it would be financially and medically smarter to keep possible H1N1 patients at home rather than having them come to clogged physician offices, where other patients could be infected with the virus.

The phone consultation fee, recently proposed by the BCMA in discussions with the Ministry of Health, is $14.74, half the current office-visit fee.

Besides being cheaper than office visits, said Brodie, phone consultations would help physicians diagnose and prescribe treatment within the critical 48-hour period after the appearance of symptoms.

The BCMA president said Thursday: ?This is really about good economy and timeliness.?

At present, physicians are not paid for phone consultations. The fee would provide a ?little bit of a financial incentive? for busy physicians to speak with patients who fear they have swine flu symptoms, said Brodie.

The BCMA is also seeking a second adjustment to the physician-fee structure so doctors are not penalized financially during a H1N1 influenza outbreak.

Now, physicians are paid $29.48 for every office visit. That rate is cut in half once a physician has seen 50 patients in a day.

The BCMA is proposing H1N1 patients not be included in that 50-patient cap because physicians? offices could be full of influenza patients in the event of a flu outbreak, driving the daily patient total well beyond 50.

Brodie said it would be unfair to ask physicians to increase their patient load during a flu outbreak but continue to apply a cap designed to restrict patient numbers.

The ministries of Health Services and Healthy Living and Sport, in a media statement, confirmed they have been meeting with the BCMA to discuss possible changes of the fee structure during an H1N1 outbreak.

?We know doctors may be unable to perform many of their usual duties in a severe pandemic.

?We will make sure doctors in British Columbia will be fairly paid for their services connected to the H1N1 influenza virus.?

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/doctors+want+diagnosing+phone/2032192/story.html