E-service keeps doctors, patients in touch

The Web-based service eSalveo gives patients a way to interact with their physicians without an office visit

From Mason Essif
Special to CNN

(CNN) -- Got a scratchy throat? Eyes won't stop running? Grab your mouse.

A company started by a Canadian physician puts a diagnosis or a prescription refill within an index finger's reach by allowing patients to contact their doctor's via e-mail.

The Web-based service dubbed eSalveo that connects doctors and their patients began as a pilot project last summer and was in full operation by October.

Family practitioner and emergency medicine physician Stephen Cord of Toronto developed the idea.

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"It came out of a very real problem that the medical profession is facing now -- access," said Rob Barbara, eSalveo co-founder. "There are so many things that demand a doctor's time in the office, and sometimes trying to get through to them is like calling the airline."

Cord thought there should be a way to use technology to meet people's needs. "The Internet seemed like an excellent way to allow my patients, or any patients, to interact with their own physicians without having to come into the office," Cord said.

More than 200 doctors have signed onto the service, but the government in Toronto has neither endorsed nor condemned eSalveo. The Ontario Ministry of Health told CNN that the service is unregulated and the ministry's advice to patients is "buyer beware."

For doctors, eSalveo solves the payment problem that phone consultations present. In Canada, the government pays doctors only for patient visits. Physicians aren't paid for helping patients via the phone, and many will not offer such services.

Cathy Labate has used eSalveo to stay in touch with her family doctor despite a recent move to another town

With eSalveo, doctors receive $10, $15 or $20 for every e-mail they answer.

Cathy Labate, who has an anxiety and depressive disorder, used eSalveo to stay in touch with her doctor when her family moved to another town. "It takes awhile to find a doctor that you are comfortable with," said Labate, who used the service to refill a prescription.

Labate's doctor, Frank Martino, said he is not a big Internet surfer, but believes the service has potential.

"It's an issue of efficiency. It's an issue of empowering the patient by giving them access," Martino said. "And it's an issue of allowing me to have more time for patients who actually come into the office.'

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