Opportunities for Internet Doctors

Individuals needing medical advice but cannot immediately access professional help can seek the aid of Internet doctors. Internet doctors, simply put, are doctors that provide medical consultations and legal prescriptions through the Internet. They can be members of an online medical networking system, or owners of their own medical website.

Cost Effective Marketing

The Internet is a cost-effective and readily accessible interactive medium between a patient and a doctor. With this premise, medical practitioners have put up online medical communities where other doctors could join to provide medical advice and resources to individuals. Other doctors have put up their own medical websites to broaden their service range. These online communities and websites all agree to support, rather than replace, the concrete doctor-patient relationship.

Internet doctors have wider opportunities for serving patients and earning additional income.

Internet doctors, through medical websites, serve as an online help desk and resource for patients. Patients, for some reasons, may be hesitant to consult their family doctors in person. Others may wish to have a second opinion. They can access medical websites and post their queries to be answered by Internet doctors. Medical websites could also provide live round-the-clock consultation services either free or for a fee.

Consultations

Consultations could be given through the phone or online. In other instances, medical practitioners provide online consultations and prescriptions for acute, simple medical conditions like acne, athlete’s foot, bronchitis, colds, coughs, flu, ear infections, herpes, insomnia, laryngitis, rashes, shingles, sore throats, upper respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, and much more. They also provide support for clients battling other medical-related problems like alcohol consumption, smoking, use of prohibited drugs, and weight loss. Furthermore, Internet doctors could instantly provide doctor’s excuse letters for work and school.

Internet doctors also serve as a resource center for physicians, medical students, and other allied health professionals regarding cases or health topics unfamiliar to them. Internet doctors could interact with their colleagues through medical networking websites. They share experiences and exchange opinions on medical news and trends. Through the Internet, physicians could publish their works and journals for criticism, and also to act as a resource.

Internet doctors could earn extra income by bringing their practice online. Internet doctors having their own medical website could earn through paid legal medical services and advice to patients or through advertising on their website. The same goes for internet doctors affiliated with an online medical community. Also, Internet doctors could utilize their online presence to inform accessible patients of their clinical services.

Despite the invaluable contribution of the Internet to the medical profession, there are some physicians who abuse online consultations. Since 1999, a number of doctors give out prescriptions to controlled drugs through so-called “pharmacy websites” without even examining the patient. These doctors would only ask a small number of questions, and then readily give out a prescription. It has been found out that doctors in this practice earn much more as compared to what they earn through legally accepted practices.

Currently, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has set guidelines for prescribing controlled substances, one of which is the prohibition to prescribe controlled substances online. More measures have to be formulated to regulate the practice of Internet doctors to ensure safe patient healthcare.