Smartphone app provides 'e-visits' to doctors

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A system for connecting doctors with patients via smartphone is being presented at a healthcare information technology conference this month.

William Thornbury will present Me-Visit — short for Mobile Electronic doctor Visit — at HiMSS 2013 in New Orleans this week. Thornbury developed the technology as a way to address the needs of his patients after years of dealing with an overcrowded clinic. Me-Visit uses smartphones to provide care for minor medical problems and follow-up with patients' personal medical providers, and Thornbury said he hoped it would help end "medical homelessness."

Me-Visit's web portal offers around-the-clock access to patients using a personal computer, smartphone or other mobile device, collecting patients' medical histories using an intuitive questionnaire and then securely transmitting them to doctors. The technology allows physicians to interpret patients' symptoms, contact pharmacies when necessary and return a customized plan of care in about three minutes.

"People understand mobile apps, and most doctors regularly use smartphones," Thornbury said. "Me-Visit marries the two ideas and does so efficiently — it's that simple."