A single physician's year-long virtual extension of her practice led to better chronic disease outcomes, lower costs, low patient turnover and high levels of patient satisfaction, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Innovation Exchange.
Michelle A. Eads, M.D., began offering round-the-clock email and phone access at her Colorado private practice for her patients in 2003. In 2006 she opened a web portal for virtual visits.
The virtual access allows Dr. Eads to review patient symptoms and complaints as they are entered into the system and respond to the patient with a diagnosis and treatment options. For patients who prefer phone conversations, Dr. Eads holds a conversation to the same effect.
According to AHRQ's report, Dr. Eads' extended access allows her to see in-person patients who are truly in-need of in-patient care, saving all stakeholders time and increasing access to medical care for Dr. Eads' sickest patients.
After the fourth year of Dr. Eads' innovation, all of her hypertension patients had achieved normal blood pressure. In addition, 98 percent of her diabetes patients had achieved normal blood glucose by year four.
For more information on Dr. Eads' innovations, visit AHRQ's website.