Good question. One word – CONVENIENCE. I created this space in order to fill a gap in the medical community. Since I have been practicing as a nurse practitioner (2006), working in the hospital and out-patient setting, I have noticed one thing that is consistent with patient care: No One Gets Sick Monday Thru Friday 8-5. Most illnesses begin during the night, holidays and weekends. People only go see their primary care providers during the work days because that’s the only time providers are in the office. No one is available in that sector during the evenings, weekends or holidays except the urgent care centers and ERs, who charge inflated facility fees to the patients because they can due to a loophole. These facilities can be very costly and exhausting due to the current patient overload around the country.
My thought was, what if we could provide a convenient service where adults needing basic sick visits could be seen in the comfort of their own homes, get a prescription called in if appropriate, and go back to bed or the couch, while time and medications help them return to a productive lifestyle or get back to work sooner. Why isn’t anyone doing this? There are also people who have health insurance but have large up front deductibles that have to be met before insurance will even begin to pay for their care. With a low visit cost, telehealth creates an affordable option to access care by a licensed and experienced provider. There are also busy executives traveling (even with Covid still in the air) who need to continue working in person rather than by Zoom all the time. When these individuals are traveling, they don’t have time to go to a provider’s office and wait to be seen by a clinician who is usually double booked and running late. Telehealth fills that gap.
Neck and back pain are very common acute complaints (see my blog on that topic). I have worked in neurosurgery 13 of my 15 years as a nurse practitioner. I can help an individual with a care plan, treatment guidelines or instructions to go to the ER, depending on the problem and presentation. If you have a question that isn’t answered in the blog, make an appointment and we’ll talk about it. I’m here to help.
Sherry Missildine, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC, RNFA