Health care should be a right, not a privilege, and more readily available to those in need.
So says Dr. Linda Petter, a family practice physician from Auburn, who recently launched a Web site designed to provide anyone direct access to a doctor – at home, the office or on vacation – whether they have health insurance or not.
Dr. Petter hopes her idea – DocForAll.com – will catch on as a consumer-oriented, user-friendly online outlet for many who otherwise cannot afford health care.
“These are tough economic times for everyone. Many people worry about having access to a doctor, let alone the cost of treatment and how they will pay for it,” said Dr. Petter, chief of the Department of Family Practice at St. Francis Hospital. “Many businesses cannot afford health insurance for their employees. Over 47 million people do not have health insurance. As a result, I decided to help.”
Dr. Petter’s Web site has four goals in mind:
1. To provide anyone, with or without health insurance, direct access to a doctor.
2. To help decrease the cost of health care.
3. To provide practical health care advice through consumer awareness and education.
4. To give back to those truly in need.
“I feel it is time to break down some of those traditional barriers to ‘medicine,’ so Americans can get the help they need,” Dr. Petter added.
At DocForAll.com, Dr. Petter will respond to questions by providing a confidential and personalized e-mail reply, or if you choose, live services via webcam, phone call or instant messaging.
“Not everyone has a doctor as a neighbor. Not everyone can take off time from work to see a doctor during business hours,” Dr. Petter said. “Perhaps you’re just looking for a second opinion from a doctor. … Researching a particular topic on the Internet can be time consuming, confusing, overwhelming and even misleading, given the vast majority of health information available.”
Cost of using the sight varies according to method and response. Prices are affordable, ranging from a $9 “no urgency” followup to a question within 12 to 48 hours, to a $35 live webcam visit with the doctor.
According to Dr. Petter, the site’s service rates are affordable, given that urgency care visits can be more than $100 and emergency care charges can run anywhere between $300 and $400.
Ten percent of each service fee collected from the site will be donated to charity. The rest will support the site.
The Web site also provides helpful hints, health talk and other key information.
Dr. Petter and her team will answer a wide assortment of health issues. She also has other specialist in her profession to help.
“This is a pilot program for our state,” Dr. Petter said. “Here we can provide advice and preventative guidance.”
But Dr. Petter points out that the online service does not replace the need to see a doctor, nor does it provide a specific diagnosis or treatment for a medical condition.
The online service is something Dr. Petter wanted to do for some time, given the current state of a suffering economy and the plight of many who have no health insurance.
She also wrote a book, “Common Medical Sense,” which provides quick tips in how one can save time and money and gain better information as a heath care consumer.
“You hear their stories, and it’s not right,” Dr. Petter said. “Everyone should have access to health care.
“I absolutely enjoy what I do,” she added. “This is a way we can reach out and make a difference.”
