| Frequently Asked Questions | ||||
| Q. | How are doctors selected? | |||
| A. | Doctors must have at the very least Board Certification and current licensure to be selected for our Doctor On Call program. Board Certification means that the physician has passed an intensive written examination and extensive training requirements. Board Certification is also above and beyond the requirements for state licensure and requires reexamination every seven to 10 years depending on specialty. | |||
| Q. | How many doctors are under contract with Doctor On Call? | |||
| A. | At this time, Doctor On Call has more than 240 Board Certified physicians on-call. Additionally, a pool of more Board Certified physicians stands ready to come on board when needed. As our program grows, the resources are available to sufficiently maintain our mandated quality of service. | |||
| Q. | Why do we use Board Certified physicians? | |||
| A. | A Board Certified physician has completed his or her mandatory training and subsequently passed rigorous examinations in his or her specialty area. Beyond their initial training and testing, Board Certified physicians also are required to regularly participate in rigorous continuing education programs, equipping them with the most current medical information and knowledge of the latest medical advances. Only 40 percent of the doctors in the U.S. are Board Certified, proof that these physicians have pursued – and continue to pursue – the standards to represent the best our nation has to offer. | |||
| Q. | How does a Doctor On Call physician diagnose over the telephone? | |||
| A. | Our physicians are instructed NOT to make a diagnosis or offer any type of treatments. However, when a caller asks a question, our physicians can provide them with specific answers to their concerns. For example, if the person calls about a fever and wants to know if they need to be seen by a doctor, the physician does not diagnose based on symptoms, but offers information on why fevers could be a concern and how they are generally handled. The American Medical Association has reported that as many as 70 percent of all doctor’s office visits are informational only. Doctor On Call complements physicians by empowering the consumer to make wiser health care decisions while, at the same time, giving the caller peace of mind. | |||
| Q. | Are group and corporate rate plans available? | |||
| A. | Yes. Group plans are available at prices discounted from the low individual rates. Doctor On Call provides a significant upgrade in employee benefits by giving them constant immediate access to Board Certified physicians. The service also allows the employer to ease the negative impact of its health insurance plan on the bottom line by better managing health insurance expenses and decreasing costly employee visits to the emergency room. | |||
| Q. | Does the Doctor On Call doctor receiving the call refer the caller to a specific doctor or facility? | |||
| A. | No, our Doctor On Call physicians do not refer to any specific doctor or facility. This allows our physicians to maintain trust and objectivity with the caller. Our physicians do inform the callers how to choose the right physician by explaining how to determine Board Certification and other qualifications. Based on the caller’s needs, they will recommend that he or she see a doctor if necessary. | |||
| Q. | How does Doctor On Call differ from nurse information hotlines? | |||
| A. | Doctor On Call offers all the advantages of nurse lines while providing a whole new level of health information for the caller. Most health information lines offer recorded information or nurses who are required to follow a flow sheet of information — essentially no more than a live voice reading a script. In contrast, Doctor On Call provides the credibility of easily-accessible Board Certified physicians who are not asked to adhere to scripts or protocols. They use their extensive training and experience to deal with each caller’s personalized needs. Each caller is given specific information about their questions, based on the physician’s expertise. | |||
| Q. | Do the Doctor On Call Doctors give their names over the phone? | |||
| A. | Our doctors give their names at their discretion. Callers may not request the same doctor as we do not seek to establish a physician-patient relationship. | |||
| Q. | Are Doctor On Call calls recorded, and how are they monitored? | |||
| A. | There are no recordings of individual Doctor On Call calls. However, all calls are documented by PIN number, time of call, duration and the physician who took the call. Doctor On Call does not document call content in order to maintain confidentiality, but the physicians personally make recorded notes of a call’s outcome following the call. This is of importance especially to health plan providers, assuring them of solid documentation in case of liability issues. | |||
| Q. | What about liability? | |||
| A. | Because Doctor On Call physicians do not practice medicine (e.g. do not diagnose, treat or prescribe), liability is kept to a minimum. In the past eight years of operations, there has not been a single claim. In addition, no claims based on a telephone conversation with physicians were found in the professional liability literature in any venue. | |||
| Q. | What kind of insurance does Doctor On Call carry? | |||
| A. | Doctor On Call carries liability insurance from Lexington Insurance Company, a AAA-rated company. We carry $1MM/$1MM coverage and higher limits are available to meet specific client needs. Certificates of insurance are available upon request. | |||