The annual doctor's issue of Milwaukee Magazine is out this month, featuring over 500 doctors in the metro area evaluated and rated by their peers. The issue includes doctor rating as well as growing medical trends.
A few trends to watch are:
Virtual Clinics
A growing trend in European countries, and the United States is just now catching up to instant medicine. Rather than going into urgent care or your physician's office, a 30 minute teleconference allows you to discuss medical needs with a doctor. This can result in receiving prescriptions and/or follow up care. Though it is not covered by insurance, it costs about $50 and saves you a trip to a clinic.
Although virtual clinics seems like an easy alternative for every doctor visit, writer Jon Anne Willow stresses the importance of seeing your doctor regularly. "You still need to have a primary care physician. You still need to have your annual physical and do your regular medical care," she says.
Willow says that virtual clinics are a good urgent care option. "Sometimes you’re just sick. And you don’t want to go sit in a clinic with sixty other people who are also sick," she says.
Subscription Model
Another trend is the subscription model. Patients can pay an annual fee to cover all basic care. The model includes easy access to your doctor, such as the doctor's cell phone number, e-mail address and availability to have house calls.
"You can tell so much just by spending time with someone, watching their face, watching their body language, watching their energy level, and it is something that dedicated practitioners are really struggling with," Willow explains.
