So we had our first Teladoc experience over the weekend with our daughter's sore throat (we were concerned she had strep). Some thoughts on the experience:
Based on the virtual visit a strep diagnosis was not clear. I was therefore very happy to see that the doctor would not prescribe antibiotics based on our visit. She advised us to go get a strep test from an actual walk-in clinic. This was very easy to do for us and within 30 minutes we had the test done and she thankfully did not have strep. Prescription was only possible when the symptoms were overwhelmingly clear and this was determined by a checklist the doctor went by. She had to check at least four of the symptoms in order to be able to make a prescription.
Now you can ask “What was the benefit of the virtual visit then?” A fair question, but to us the benefit was that it was a far better first step in the process. Rather than having to jump in the car and go to a clinic there was another option that could potentially solve the problem without having to get in the car and go to the doctor. The fact that our doctor did not just reach for the prescription pad was very encouraging. I understand that concern of overprescribing and really do hope that our experience continues to be the standard across the entire country.
The bottom line is that from a consumer’s perspective having access to Teladoc is an excellent complement to our health plan. It’s not meant to replace something; it’s meant to make what we have better. Our Blue Cross Blue Shield plan recently added the Teladoc membership to our coverage and I hope we keep it. As a consumer it’s a win.
From the investor’s perspective, well I’ll refer you back to the consumer’s perspective. If our experience is indicative of the level of service Teladoc provides on a national scale then I’m very encouraged. They’re the largest pure-play in the space and they’ve built out a massive network of providers that can offer many meaningful services. Retention is high, customers on the whole seem very pleased with what they have to offer and the market opportunity is absolutely massive. The regulatory environment is changing quickly and adapting to the benefits of virtual healthcare. It’s no longer a matter of “if, just a matter of “when.” So I hope our provider keeps our Teladoc membership and I’ll definitely be hanging on to my shares in the company.
- They were busy (it was Friday afternoon) but the wait was reasonable (20 minutes).
- You are waiting in your home with your phone so you can keep on doing other stuff.
- Slick app, easy to upload pictures of her throat I took with my phone for the doctor to see.
- You build profiles in the app for each family member. They keep your history to consult.
- You can link to your primary care provider as well in the app for better sharing of information.
- Connected to our choice of pharmacy in the area to pick up any potential prescriptions.
- The doctor was very friendly and pleasant to speak with.
- More than satisfied with follow-up.
- We had to shell out $15 for the virtual visit; more than reasonable in my opinion.
Based on the virtual visit a strep diagnosis was not clear. I was therefore very happy to see that the doctor would not prescribe antibiotics based on our visit. She advised us to go get a strep test from an actual walk-in clinic. This was very easy to do for us and within 30 minutes we had the test done and she thankfully did not have strep. Prescription was only possible when the symptoms were overwhelmingly clear and this was determined by a checklist the doctor went by. She had to check at least four of the symptoms in order to be able to make a prescription.
Now you can ask “What was the benefit of the virtual visit then?” A fair question, but to us the benefit was that it was a far better first step in the process. Rather than having to jump in the car and go to a clinic there was another option that could potentially solve the problem without having to get in the car and go to the doctor. The fact that our doctor did not just reach for the prescription pad was very encouraging. I understand that concern of overprescribing and really do hope that our experience continues to be the standard across the entire country.
The bottom line is that from a consumer’s perspective having access to Teladoc is an excellent complement to our health plan. It’s not meant to replace something; it’s meant to make what we have better. Our Blue Cross Blue Shield plan recently added the Teladoc membership to our coverage and I hope we keep it. As a consumer it’s a win.
From the investor’s perspective, well I’ll refer you back to the consumer’s perspective. If our experience is indicative of the level of service Teladoc provides on a national scale then I’m very encouraged. They’re the largest pure-play in the space and they’ve built out a massive network of providers that can offer many meaningful services. Retention is high, customers on the whole seem very pleased with what they have to offer and the market opportunity is absolutely massive. The regulatory environment is changing quickly and adapting to the benefits of virtual healthcare. It’s no longer a matter of “if, just a matter of “when.” So I hope our provider keeps our Teladoc membership and I’ll definitely be hanging on to my shares in the company.
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