Friday, Jun. 27, 2008
Grapevine Clinic Adopts Web Program
By Scott Price
Staff Writer
Comprehensive Women’s Healthcare, inside Baylor Medical Center at Grapevine, is using its Web site to enable doctors to make virtual house calls.
Patients can interact with their doctors from the comfort and convenience of their own homes through www.grapevineob.com, the medical center’s Web site. This online, secure portal enables patients to enter symptoms into a questionnaire and receive their personal doctors’ consultation.
"While it does not replace a visit that requires a physical exam, it proves to be a viable option for follow-up appointments of minor ailments," according to Comprehensive Women’s Healthcare.
Barbara Buckley, a nurse practitioner with Comprehensive Women’s Healthcare, said this is the first obstetrician/gynecologist office in Texas to use Medfusion software that allows the virtual medical office. She said she believes more medical offices will begin using this type of system in the future.
A patient can log on, register their symptoms and receive a prompt response from her doctor without having to leave home, Buckley said.
Buckley said the system also allows patients to check-in with their doctor, allow doctors to send messages to their patients, request an appointment for an office visit, renew a prescription, store medical information all in one place and to pay bills.
"It is something they don’t think they need an exam for, then they can go online," she said. "I think it is a comprehensive set of services offered online that are provided by their own doctor’s office."
The Grapevine clinic, which has been at Baylor Grapevine since 1998, began using the visual doctor’s office system in March.
"We have been discussing with our patients for the past six months about offering online services, and their response was overwhelmingly positive," said Alan Cowen, a physician at Comprehensive Women’s Healthcare. "Now that we are up and running, both the staff and patients are very pleased with how easy it is to use, and how much you can accomplish without coming to or even calling the office. Through this exciting new development, we are able to enhance the patient experience by providing welcomed convenience to our patients."
Buckley said there are many times when a woman visits a doctor’s office and does not receive a medical examination. In these cases, the new system allows a woman the convenience of staying at home and receiving the same answers she would have received at the doctor’s office.
"Online patient visits bring a heightened level of convenience to patients," said Kimberly Labow, Medfusion vice president of marketing and product management. "This is life-changing news for women in the area, but the service will certainly spread to other OB/GYN practices in Texas and will change the face of health care today."
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