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A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 10 OcTOber 2019
Doctors turn to thumbs for diagnosis and treatment by text

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The doctor couldn't pre-
— Dr. Anna Nguyen spoke scribe anything. But she
with none of the five pa- sent pictures of common
tients she treated on a re- medications Spitzer could
cent weekday morning. buy, including cough drops
She didn't even leave her with lower levels of men-
dining room. thol, which dries out vocal
The emergency physi- chords.
cian nevertheless helped "I wish that there is a way for
a pregnant Ohio woman me to ... tell her, 'Thank you
handle hip pain, exam- so much, you kind of saved
ined a Michigan man's my life,'" Spitzer said. "I was
sore throat and texted a able to give my recital and
mom whose son became it was great."
sick during a family trip to 98point6 customers first de-
Mexico. scribe their symptoms to a
Welcome to the latest wrin- chatbot that uses a com-
kle in health care conve- puter program to figure
nience: the chat diagnosis. out what to ask. That infor-
Nguyen's company, Cir- mation is then passed to a
rusMD, can connect pa- doctor for diagnosis and
tients with a doctor in less treatment.
than a minute. But such In this Wednesday Aug. 28, 2019 photo, emergency room physician, Dr. Anna Nguyen uses her "There are many, many
fast service comes with a smartphone to communicate with a remote patient from her Sacramento, Calif., home. cases where the physician
catch: The patient prob- Associated Press does not have to ask a
ably won't see or talk to single additional question,"
the doctor, because most expensive emergency is not crucial for every case. from Mexico. Her 6-year- CEO Robbie Cape said.
communication takes room visits. Walmart's Sam's They also say doctors don't old started vomiting and The company launched its
place via secure messag- Club, for instance, recently always need vital signs like developed a fever and di- service in January 2018 with
ing. announced that it would temperature and blood arrhea after his brother and 600 customers and expects
"We live in a consumer-driv- offer 98point6 visits as part pressure, but they can father became sick during to have about 1 million
en world, and I think that of a customer care pro- coach patients through a vacation. Nguyen want- people signed up by the
consumers are becoming gram it is testing. taking them if necessary. ed to know how the boy end of this year.
accustomed to being able But some doctors worry Doctors also can opt for a was acting, so she asked K Health also started in
to access all types of ser- about the quality of care video or phone conversa- several questions and re- 2018 with a business that
vice with their thumbs," Cir- provided by physicians who tion when needed. quested a picture. offers personalized health
rusMD co-founder Dr. Blake won't see their patients and Even so, the companies The emergency physician information to patients who
McKinney said. might have a limited medi- estimate they can resolve could tell by his skin color might otherwise Google
CirrusMD and rivals like cal history to read before more than 80 percent of that he wasn't dehydrated. their symptoms. Those pa-
98point6 and K Health of- deciding treatment. their cases through mes- "The picture itself looks reas- tients then have an option
fer message-based treat- "If the business opportu- saging. suring," she said. "If he had to chat with a doctor.
ment for injuries or minor ill- nity is huge, there's a risk About 3 million people na- encephalitis, he'd be really These companies say their
nesses normally handled by that that caution is pushed tionwide have access to confused and out of it." doctors often answer an
a doctor's office or clinic. aside," said Dr. Thomas CirrusMD doctors, mostly The doctor said she thought array of quick questions as
They say they're even more Bledsoe, a member of the through their insurance. the boy just had a stomach well provide care. Nguyen
convenient than the video American College of Physi- The insurer or employer pro- bug, and she told his moth- had a Louisiana woman
telemedicine that many cians. viding the coverage pays er to make sure he kept send her a picture of her
employers and insurers now Message-based care pro- for the service, allowing pa- drinking fluids. thumb, which she punc-
offer, because patients ac- viders say they take steps tients to chat with doctors Nguyen said she enjoys this tured cleaning out a chick-
customed to Uber-like con- to ensure safety and rec- at no charge. type of care because the en coop, just to see if the
venience can text with a ommend in-person doc- At first glance, a visitor format gives her more time doctor thought it might
doctor while riding a bus or tor visits when necessary. to Nguyen's Sacramento with patients. need attention.
waiting in a grocery store Nguyen, for instance, home wouldn't be able to "I think patients will like it Patients and doctors have
line. once urged an 85-year-old tell if she was the doctor or a lot because most really long emailed outside of
Millions of Americans have woman who contacted the patient during her re- hate going to their doc- office visits, usually about
access to these services. CirrusMD about crushing cent shift. She sat at her din- tor," she said referring to prescription refills or follow-
The companies are grow- chest pain to head to an ing room table and tapped the hassle of setting an ap- up questions. These newer,
ing thanks to a push to im- emergency room. her iPhone to bounce be- pointment, getting to the message-based treat-
prove care access, keep These companies note that tween patients. office and then waiting for ments often involve care
patients healthy and limit a thorough medical history The doctor's phone started the visit. by a physician who doesn't
dinging shortly after her Some patients simply don't know the patient and who
five-hour shift began. have time for all that. may have a limited view of
She gave physical thera- Ohio Wesleyan University that person's medical his-
py recommendations to student Jasmine Spitzer tory.
the pregnant woman and contacted a 98point6 doc- That concerns Bledsoe, the
helped a Colorado man tor in a panic earlier this American College of Phy-
who hurt his back moving year because her throat sicians doctor. He noted,
boxes at work. A Michigan was sore, and the music for instance, that a patient
man checked in about his education major had an who wants a quick pre-
sore throat as that conver- opera recital coming up. scription for another blad-
sation wound down. She texted for help as she der infection may actually
Then the mom messaged walked to class. need a cancer test.q