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I’ve been having some technical problems with WordPress, so just to make sure this doesn’t get buried or lost in the digital netherworld, here’s Bill Crounse, MD, Worldwide Health Director for the Microsoft Corporation, response to my post on Microsoft’s new pilot program to have their health insurer pay for employee virtual physician visits.

The pilot program at Microsoft is based on reimbursement for structured e-mail exchanges between a physician and his or her patient. I was involved in a pilot project with Microsoft about 10 years ago where we tested true “virtual visits’ using Net Meeting audio and video connections, but at the time the technology was a bit too complex for wide adoption. All of that is now changed with advances in Unified Communication technology, VOIP, more ubiquitous broadband, etc. The day will surely come when “virtual visits” are routinely conducted between physicians and their patients with participating physicians appropriately reimbursed for their services. In the meantime, we are taking baby steps, but very important steps in the broader scheme of things.

Thanks Bill. We’d love to keep track of any innovations in this area.