It is not necessary to live in the same city or country as your telemedical healthcare practitioner to receive excellent care.
Second Opinion Physician Telemedicine Practice
Second Opinion Physician focuses on depression, behavioral disorders, and overall mental health. Telemedical practitioners are fast-becoming the preferable mode for highly effective patient care and management.
We provide holistic support for emotional and mental health disorders, specializing in treating the symptoms of major depression disorder, anxiety disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and memory loss.
Our medical director, Dr David Epstein, is also an integrative and functional medicine practitioner and will holistically address a wide range of conditions.
Telemedicine
Officially defined, telemedicine is the “use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance”. At Second Opinion Physician, we are able to use lab testing and phone, email, or Skype consultations to provide recommendations for natural, safe, non-invasive, and incredibly effective treatments for a wide spectrum of mental health and functional medicine concerns. No more battling traffic, taking time off of work, or hectic waiting rooms!
There are many benefits and advantages in telemedicine: the elimination of the need for travel, reduction in the cost of healthcare because of increased efficiency, and an increase in the ability to reach people in rural areas (for example) or others who may otherwise be cut-off from primary or specialized care. Additionally, studies have not only proven the overwhelming efficacy of telemedicine but are even showing it to be a superior method of healthcare delivery in some specialties, particularly mental health. Telemedicine provides better patient monitoring and, according to the American Telemedicine Association, provides “greater outcomes and patient satisfaction”.
Convenience, economy (it saves time and money!), wider access, and superior quality are only some of the major benefits of telemedicine. Other positive considerations are the capability for real-time correspondence, quick turnaround on test results, the ability to see multiple doctors and receive “second opinions” from any number of specialists from a distance, and privacy and safety assurance, as telemedicine is fully HIPAA compliant.
At Second Opinion Physician, client care usually begins with an initial consultation with Dr. David Epstein, either online (Skype or email) or by phone. The consultation is then followed by the scheduling of lab tests, to be carried out by our partners at Lab Corp and Direct Lab. This can be done no matter what state a client may live in.
In his capacity of practicing telemedicine for mental illnesses, Dr Dave will request tests which will analyze the client’s brain chemistry based on nutrient levels (please see our Blog section for interesting articles and descriptions of these various nutrients and their effects on our brains and overall health!). Once payment is received and the test results are submitted, our doctor will review the labs, and the client will receive a comprehensive list of supplements specific to their biochemistry profile. It’s that easy!
A note on insurance: patients should be sure to ask their insurance providers if out-of-state physician consultations are covered, as well as lab testing. Many insurance providers do reimburse for Lab Corp testing.
Telemedicine is growing in demand as patients catch on to its vast advantages. Also growing in demand are natural treatments for depression and other mental health concerns. Second Opinion Physician provides all of these! Call us today for a free pre-consultation, or use the online chat to set up an initial consultation!
We look forward to supporting your greater health and happiness.
Patients who receive consultation services at Second Opinion Physician will be referred to an online Telemedicine Consent Form that provides greater clarity to the services offered and limitations of telemedicine care. Please follow the link to see the full Consent form. Let us know if you have any questions.
INTRODUCTION
Telemedicine involves the use of electronic communications to enable health care providers at different locations to share individual patient medical information for the purpose of improving patient care. Providers may include primary care practitioners, specialists, and/or subspecialists. The information may be used for diagnosis, therapy, follow‐up and/or education, and may include any of the following:
- Patient medical records
- Medical images
- Live two‐way audio and video
- Output data from medical devices and sound and video files
Electronic systems used will incorporate network and software security protocols to protect the confidentiality of patient identification and imaging data and will include measures to safeguard the data and to ensure its integrity against intentional or unintentional corruption.
EXPECTED BENEFITS
- Improved access to medical care by enabling a patient to remain in his/her office (or at a remote site) while the physician obtains test results and consults from healthcare practitioners at distant/other
- More efficient medical evaluation and
- Obtaining expertise of a distant
POSSIBLE RISKS
As with any medical procedure, there are potential risks associated with the use of telemedicine. These risks include, but may not be limited to:
- In rare cases, information transmitted may not be sufficient (e.g. poor resolution of images) to allow for appropriate medical decision making by the physician and consultant(s);
- Delays in medical evaluation and treatment could occur due to deficiencies or failures of the equipment;
- In very rare instances, security protocols could fail, causing a breach of privacy of personal medical information;
- In rare cases, a lack of access to complete medical records may result in adverse drug interactions or allergic reaction or other judgment error;
BY SIGNING THIS FORM, I ATTEST TO AND UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:
- I understand that the laws that protect privacy and the confidentiality of medical information also apply to telemedicine, and that no information obtained in the use of telemedicine which identifies me will be disclosed to researchers or other entities without my consent,
- I understand that I have the right to withhold or withdraw my consent to the use of telemedicine in the course of my care at any time, without affecting my right to future care or treatment,
- I understand that I have the right to inPatients Sigspect all information obtained and recorded in the course of telemedicine interaction, and may receive copies of this information for a reasonable fee,
- I understand that a variety of alternative methods of medical care may be available to me, and that I may choose one or more of these at any (name of Physician) has explained the alternatives to my satisfaction,
- I understand that telemedicine may involve electronic communication of my personal medical information to other medical practitioners who may be located in other areas, including out of
- I understand that it is my duty to inform (name of Physician) of electronic interactions regarding my care that I may have with other healthcare
- I understand that I may expect the anticipated benefits from the use of telemedicine in my care, but that no results can be guaranteed or
- I attest that I am located in the state of California and will be present in the state of California during all telehealth encounters with (name of Physician).
PATIENT CONSENT TO THE USE OF TELEMEDICINE
I have read and understand the information provided above regarding telemedicine, have discussed it with my physician or such assistants as may be designated, and all of my questions have been answered to my satisfaction. I hereby give my informed consent for the use of telemedicine in my medical care.