Could E-Mail or Video conferencing be truly credible? As a Police Officer I feel this may lead to problems. Braves1

In some cases, for minor issues I think this could work. An example for me would be for a UTI. I get them frequently and for those of you that have had them, you know that it is very uncomfortable and the last thing you want to do is move around to get yourself to the doctor's office and then sit in a waiting room. I would much rather video conference or e-mail a doctor just to tell them my symptoms, they can easily check my records to see that I have them frequently enough to recognize when I have one, and then just send an RX to the pharmacy for me. In some cases you just can't get around going in to the doctor's office, but I think this is something to be explored for minor issues.

Obviously this depends on what the visit was intended for. If all I needed to do was refill a prescription then of course I would prefer to avoid the hassle of going in. It could also work extremely well for chronic disease management as most of those visits are routine and involve going over strategies and lifestyle modifications with a person.

I would be weary of relying on a video-conference for a sick visit. Losing the ability to truly assess a patient could lead to mis-diagnoses and further complications.

This all depends on the reason for the visit. Many office visits could easily be done by email or video conference. And many people call in with questions that could sometimes be better answered through video conference. For example, a new parent may not know if a rash on their baby is something to be concerned about. Calling their pediatrician allows them to describe it, but that's not very accurate and could lead to the pediatrician recommending the wrong thing. If you can show the rash through video conferencing, it is going to be more accurate and the pediatrician can choose to either have the parent bring the child in or else say that everything is fine and suggest ointment or whatever. The same example may have had the parent bring the baby in to the hospital rather than calling and that may end up wasting time and money when it could have been answered quickly and easily with video conferencing. That's just one example. There are many examples where this would be beneficial.

At the same time, most things cannot be done over the phone, email, or video conferencing and should not be attempted in those ways.

This should be optional and cheaper than an office visit.

All forms of communications have pros and cons. Email definitely has a place in the practice of medicine.

For minor/routine things video conferencing would work, but not for major things or a sick visit.

This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. How is a doctor going to diagnose my condition over the internet or on the phone? How would they hear my heart rate, determine if I have a bacterial or viral infection, determine my objective symptoms like do I have a fever, etc.

ABOSLUTELY!

For basic services.