Click to play: YouTube and similar sites have more doctors getting ready for their close-ups
So Dr. Jacobs began making video e-mails, giving patients the results himself, and explaining them in more detail. If the news is bad, Dr. Jacobs sends a video requesting that the patient make an appointment.
Dr. Jacobs has been sending video e-mails for about seven months. He said he does it because his patients like it, not only because they can see him talk about their test results, but also because they like how tech-savvy the video e-mail makes him appear.
"They say, 'Thanks,' and then, 'How did you do that?' " Dr. Jacobs said.
That "how" question is one a small but growing number of physicians are trying to figure out, as they incorporate the use of Internet video into their practices.
Doctors are creating video blogs, or posting video of lectures or procedures, or as Dr. Jacobs is doing, adding video to e-mail. Some are posting video to their own Web sites, to YouTube or to doctor- or health-specific sites.
Creating Web video doesn't have to be expensive. Dr. Jacobs pays $9 per month for his video e-mail system and made a one-time purchase of a webcam, which can sit atop or near the computer and feed video straight into it. A webcam can cost as little as $25.
Nina Sossamon-Pogue, with BenefitFocus, a Charleston, S.C.-based health IT company that recently launched the open-source video site icyou.com, said video is a way to make things easier for patients to understand what the physician wants to convey.
[...] Copyright 2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.RELATED CONTENT You may also be interested in reading:
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Permalink Comments off Former United CEO settles in case charging stock backdating
UnitedHealth Group's former CEO and board chair has settled with the company and the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that he benefited from an illegal scheme to maximize what he earned in stock options. But legal troubles remain for both William McGuire, MD, and United. On Dec. 5, 2007, Dr. McGuire settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission and with pension funds that had brought a lawsuit against him over backdating of stock options, which was alleged to have occurred from 1994 to 2005. The SEC settlement totaled $468 million, the largest ever resulting from options backdating. Though Dr. McGuire admitted no wrongdoing, the size of the settlement "reflects the magnitude and scope of Dr. McGuire's misconduct," Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's enforcement division, said in a prepared statement. Of that total, $7 million was a civil fine paid to the SEC, another $12.7 million was a return of what the SEC called "ill-gotten gains," and the remainder was a forfeiture of options already issued. The SEC settlement also bars Dr. McGuire from serving as an officer or director in a public company for 10 years. In the lawsuit settlement, Dr. McGuire agreed to reimburse United for $448 million in options and cash, on top of $200 million in options he gave back upon resigning from United in November 2006, after 15 years with the company. The SEC said the lawsuit settlement, which needs to be reviewed and approved by a U.S. District Court judge in Minnesota, was sufficient to cover the forfeiture it had ordered. [...] Copyright 2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.RELATED CONTENT You may also be interested in reading: Health plan earnings up, but United's woes continue Feb. 26, 2007 SEC takes closer look at United's stock-option grants Jan. 15, 2007 Stock option problems magnifying financial troubles for United Nov. 27, 2006
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