Thanks for the clarifications and comments on my last post about telemedicine and evidence. As I said in the post, the more data we collect, the more we’re learning what questions we really need to ask and answer. Hopefully we’ll see more good data being published to address these new questions.

One issue that was highlighted by reader C. Gresham Bayne in his comment pertains to house call patients, an area that fascinates me. I need to write a post about physicians delivering care in the home and the associated technology that enables it. This comment motivated me to do the research and get it done. It’s not for today, but it’s coming.

I read and referenced a very good article recently that stated there’s no such thing as a healthcare consumer. The article used this as the basis for a pretty convincing argument about the failure of Google Health.

While I agree with most of the article, the definition of “consumer” is too narrow: "someone who uses personal dollars to buy goods and services for his or her own use." I agree that individuals in the healthcare system are insulated from most of the spending, but, with high-deductible rate plans and increasing premiums, individuals are getting closer to the transaction itself.