Rand Corporation

An analysis of Doctor On Demand administrative data conducted by the RAND Corporation suggests that patients turning to direct-to-consumer telemedicine services in the days following natural disasters such as hurricanes are most often seeking routine care and guidance, as opposed to treatment for new issues prompted by the storms.

Video doctor visits have the potential to help many different kinds of patients, but elderly patients, who are sometimes homebound or have trouble driving, would seem like a natural fit -- including the more than 50 million Americans on Medicare.

Last week, JAMA Internal Medicine published a two-page research letter by the Rand Corporation that played into a national conversation about the efficacy of telemedicine -- specifically Teladoc, a company which is both about to IPO and embroiled in a potentially precedent-setting legal battle with its home state of Texas over whether the Texas Medical Board has the right to regulate the practice of telemedicine.

Physicians who meet with patients via direct to consumer telemedicine services are just as likely to prescribe antibiotics as those who conduct in-person visits, according to a study conducted by Rand Corporation.