Doctor Phil McGraw appeared at the Digital Health Summit at the CES in Las Vegas this week to talk about telemedicine, particularly his Doctor on Demand business, a company he co-founded with his son, Jay who produces The Doctors. He’s a powerful name with the potential to make telemedicine a household word. His daytime TV show has a legion of viewers and its website attracts nearly 1.5 million visitors each month. Having asked Inside Edition Chief Correspondent Jim Moret to interview him, it wasn’t a conversation punctuated by tough questions. But there were some interesting takeaways.
I’m not tech savvy
It’s not very often you hear the co-founder of a digital health company admit that they’re not especially savvy with technology. But what he may lack in tech skills, Doctor Phil makes up for with marketing chops. How many other telemedicine founders have a daytime talk show? He also noted that he’ll be talking about the company at his next appearance on Jimmy Fallon later this month.
Biggest challenge for Doctor on Demand?
The way McGraw sees it, the biggest challenge for his business isn’t reimbursement or liability concerns. It’s that people think telemedicine sounds too good to be true. He suggested that the idea that people can have a video chat with a licensed therapist or physician on their phone or laptop without a big wait time is something they can’t quite get their heads around. Maybe his particular audience just prefers in-person visits. It’s going to take some time for many people to get used to a remote check in approach to doctor visits, even if they have to wait longer for appointments. They prefer the rapport they have with their physicians and the experience of an in-person visit no matter how much telemedicine advocates bemoan the inconvenience.
Doctor Phil show claims it has paid more than $22 million in aftercare costs
McGraw highlighted this factoid. The show’s compassionate approach to guests as far as healthcare bills are concerned no doubt adds to McGraw’s brand.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
There are pros and cons to seeing a therapist online
The company’s move last month to add 300 mental health professionals wasn’t a surprise for a company co-founded by a former psychologist. So it was interesting to hear McGraw acknowledge that the kind of cues that psychologists look for like body language and patient facial reactions could be missed if the patient is sitting in their house, office or car, rather than in the same room as the therapist. But he also emphasized that the quality of its technology meant that mental health professionals could pick up things like when a patient is flushed, for instance. McGraw also noted that if having a remote visit with a therapist would make some people feel more comfortable, more candid, and more likely to seek professional help or not miss their appointments, then that’s a good thing.
