I’ve been practicing family medicine for almost 25 years, in wildly different settings and cities (and countries). Now, I am excited to start my latest journey, with Teladoc’s P360 Virtual Primary Care service. Yes, that’s right: virtual primary care. I’ll be helping patients just like I’ve always done — except this time via virtual visits on video or phone, across the USA.

Virtual visits are not a new phenomenon, as all providers were forced to practice medicine online during those dark early months of COVID. While COVID thankfully has faded as a pandemic, many people have realized that they enjoyed and preferred online care. But having your family doctor online, for check-ups and refills and managing your care? Well, that’s a brand-new concept.

Just like in the past, I will have my own panel of patients who I take care of. I will manage their chronic diseases, order labs and refills, and take care of annual physicals and wellness checks. I will still have a staff of medical assistants, nurses, customer service, and other colleagues.

I won’t pretend that this will be for every patient, even if they have proper internet access and equipment. I also will have major adjustments to this new schedule and work process. But I do feel there is incredible potential here to take even better care of patients, especially those who find it harder to come into a clinic. I had plenty of patients in my most recent community clinic who lived hours away, or were home-bound, or found transportation difficult. For many of them, seeing me online would be a major benefit.

All of Teladoc’s P360 providers get licensed in dozens of states, so I will be a “national” family doctor. Apart from my usual Washington state, I am already seeing patients from Tennessee and South Carolina — and soon many more.

I must admit that this is all very new, and a bit intimidating — and yet I feel that the potential of virtual primary care is powerful and important for future healthcare, and I thought it was the perfect time to jump into this. With Teladoc as the market leader, I am at the forefront of this cutting-edge care.

We all know how difficult it is these days for anyone in the USA to find or keep a primary care provider. This is a major problem in my Kitsap County area, even in our wealthier towns. So, any improved access to doctors I think would be a great thing. With virtual primary care, you could literally be seeing your new family doctor within a couple of days from today, often within a week. Your follow-ups could be even quicker; and if you need urgent care, you could be seeing another provider in just a couple of minutes.

If you want to read more about Teladoc’s Virtual Primary Care service, you can click here. And if you want to see me as your family doctor, just follow the steps on the same link. I look forward to sharing my new adventure with new and former patients.