Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota recently handed out 4,000 vouchers at the state fair for free e-visits with physicians, according to a Star-Tribune report.
The vouchers are for use on Online Care Anywhere, a BCBS site that allows patients to consult with physicians from across the country via a webcam, according to the report.
Peter Antell, MD, a pediatrician from California and medical director of the company that connects patients and providers through Online Care Anywhere, believes the website will help ease a looming physician shortage when thousands more Minnesotans become insured under the healthcare reform law.
"All of a sudden, we will likely have a huge new pool of patients looking for physicians, no question," said Dr. Antell in the report.
The vouchers expire Nov. 30, and Dr. Antell believes the site will see increased traffic in the coming months.
"Part of our strategy is just to keep reminding patients that this does exist," said Dr. Antell in the report, "that we can do a lot of things and take care of a lot of conditions."
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