MyAspirus E-Visits provide patients with increased access to Aspirus providers for non-emergency health care concerns without the need to travel to an in-person office visit.
E-Visits can help established Aspirus patients with minor medical concerns through a secure online questionnaire available to anyone with a MyAspirus account.
Listen in as Laurence R. Gordon, DO explains how MyAspirus lets you view your medical information online to help you be your own best health advocate.
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MyAspirus: Features And Key Benefits For Patients
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Learn more about Laurence R. Gordon, DO
Laurence R. Gordon, DO
Laurence R. Gordon, DO specialties include Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.Learn more about Laurence R. Gordon, DO
Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): My Aspirus gives you direct online access to portions of your electronic medical records where your healthcare provider stores your health information. My guest today is Dr. Larry Gordon. He's an internal medicine/pediatric physician at Aspirus Health System. Welcome to the show, Dr. Gordon. So, tell us about My Aspirus. How can somebody access their own health information online?
Dr. Larry Gordon (Guest): So, you can access My Aspirus either from a computer or from a smartphone. There is an app for that, and once you enroll, then you can find out lots of different pieces of information, communicate with your provider, and your provider's office.
Melanie: So, do they get a code when they sign in? Is there a registration that they have to do?
Dr. Gordon: Sure. So, you can request a code if you're not in an office visit, but when you come in for your office visit, we can give you one on the spot and, as a matter of fact, as part of your office visit, we give you an after visit summary, and on there, if you have not already activated My Aspirus, then you will receive a code. And, it will give you an initial login and password, and then, of course, you get to set your own login name and password after that and that's what you would use going forward from your mobile device or your computer.
Melanie: Once into My Aspirus, what can they see?
Dr. Gordon: So, they can see a summary of their information; they can see the medical problems that we have listed on their problem list; they can see recent labs going several back, they can see their immunization schedule; they can of course, see the medications that have been prescribed through our system; and, if they need refills, they can also request refills through the system very easily that way. Now, of course, they may need to see their physician to get some refills if they haven't been seen recently, so they can stay up-to-date with their healthcare, but if they've been seen recently, then they can request refills that way and it will get sent to their pharmacy of record or wherever they ask us to send it. They can also send simple messages to us. So, there may be questions that they have about their care, or they may have some new things that have come up that they have a question about, and they can write in a message to us. They initially usually go to the nurses, quite often the nurses can handle those questions. Then, after that, if they can't or if there are any questions, they send the questions to us to respond. There are times that the problem may require an office visit or be too complex to sort of do through messaging that way, so sometimes we may ask them to come in to see us or to go to the walk-in, or, as a matter of fact, the emergency department.
Melanie: And, what's the difference between asking your care team a question this way or emailing your doctor?
Dr. Gordon: So, we don't allow direct emails to the doctors. It’s all done through My Aspirus because we want everything to be part of your chart. So, if something would come up later, other providers can see what exactly has taken place, what thought process has been gone through in order to answer the patient's questions or concerns.
Melanie: Is there another way to get medical advice without an in-person visit? Tell us about e-Visits.
Dr. Gordon: Sure. So, the other thing that you can do as you brought up, is an e-visit. So, for anybody that's an Aspirus patient, we do allow e-Visits. Those are an electronic visit that you are charged for separately. There are about ten different complaints or concerns that you can do. Sore throat, red eye, cough, a possible sinus infection, back pain, etc. Depending upon what question or what complaint you have, you get a different questionnaire on-line. You need to answer all the different question so that we can, of course, help you to the best of our ability, and if we complete the e-visit with you, so, if we say, "This is what we're going to do for you. This is what we're going to prescribe, or these exercises," or whatever the case is, the cost for the e-visit, I believe, is $35.00. Otherwise, if for some reason we re-direct you to an office visit appointment and we don't think it can be done over electronically, then no fee is charged at this time. It's not subject to deductible. It's outside of your insurance program entirely.
Melanie: Dr. Gordon, who can use an e-visit?
Dr. Gordon: So, currently anybody who's an Aspirus patient can use and e-visit. They need to have been seen usually by somebody in primary care or specialty care in order to have an e-visit because we want you to already have a relationship with somebody.
Melanie: Do they have to be 18 years or older? Is it for adults or can teens use it, as well?
Dr. Gordon: Currently, it's for only adults, 18 years and older. We are looking at the possibility of opening up to younger aged people.
Melanie: And, what about safety and security of this information? Explain to the listeners a little bit about that.
Dr. Gordon: So, everything that's done with an e-visit, or everything on My Aspirus you're doing directly through the My Aspirus portal which is safe and secure, password protected, going over a secure internet connection. When we respond back to you, you will receive an email or an alert on your smartphone, if you're doing it that way, that there's a response waiting for you but no information is actually transmitted to your email other than “please log in to your My Aspirus” to let you know there's something to go there for but no actual medical information is sent to your personal email or device. You have to be in the secure portal in order to actually view the information.
Melanie: Dr. Gordon, in this age of self-advocacy for our own best health care, what do you see as My Aspirus' role in helping people be their own best advocate?
Dr. Gordon: So, I see the role of My Aspirus as letting you be involved on your own time. We all lead very busy lives, more so than I think we have in the past and have a big time crunch and there are a lot of people who work other shifts, not just a normal, let's say 9-5, they may be a second or third shift worker. So, it's much harder to reach somebody at times when everybody's available. So, this sort of, let’s you have asynchronous, which is a complicated word for basically just saying “communication when you're available”. You know you're not going to necessarily get a response immediately. It's not like a phone call conversation where you're having a simultaneous two-way conversation, but you can make requests on your schedule and then, when we're in the office on a normal schedule, we can respond back to you and that's the expectation. You know, if you need immediate care, obviously, you need to see your physician, or an urgent care, walk-in, emergency room, something of that sort, but for things that don't need that immediate attention, it's a really good way to get things done. However, I do want to emphasize that it doesn't totally replace always going to your doctor. You still need your annual checkup and if you have chronic problems, diabetes, or heart failure, or high blood pressure, you still need to get seen, because there is no replacement for having that relationship and having that physical exam done by your provider to make sure other things aren't coming up that we're not otherwise going to be able to see.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Dr. Gordon. It's really great information. And, for more information about My Aspirus, you can go to www.aspirus.org. That's www.aspirus.org. You're listening to Aspirus Health Talk. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Melanie Cole (Host): My Aspirus gives you direct online access to portions of your electronic medical records where your healthcare provider stores your health information. My guest today is Dr. Larry Gordon. He's an internal medicine/pediatric physician at Aspirus Health System. Welcome to the show, Dr. Gordon. So, tell us about My Aspirus. How can somebody access their own health information online?
Dr. Larry Gordon (Guest): So, you can access My Aspirus either from a computer or from a smartphone. There is an app for that, and once you enroll, then you can find out lots of different pieces of information, communicate with your provider, and your provider's office.
Melanie: So, do they get a code when they sign in? Is there a registration that they have to do?
Dr. Gordon: Sure. So, you can request a code if you're not in an office visit, but when you come in for your office visit, we can give you one on the spot and, as a matter of fact, as part of your office visit, we give you an after visit summary, and on there, if you have not already activated My Aspirus, then you will receive a code. And, it will give you an initial login and password, and then, of course, you get to set your own login name and password after that and that's what you would use going forward from your mobile device or your computer.
Melanie: Once into My Aspirus, what can they see?
Dr. Gordon: So, they can see a summary of their information; they can see the medical problems that we have listed on their problem list; they can see recent labs going several back, they can see their immunization schedule; they can of course, see the medications that have been prescribed through our system; and, if they need refills, they can also request refills through the system very easily that way. Now, of course, they may need to see their physician to get some refills if they haven't been seen recently, so they can stay up-to-date with their healthcare, but if they've been seen recently, then they can request refills that way and it will get sent to their pharmacy of record or wherever they ask us to send it. They can also send simple messages to us. So, there may be questions that they have about their care, or they may have some new things that have come up that they have a question about, and they can write in a message to us. They initially usually go to the nurses, quite often the nurses can handle those questions. Then, after that, if they can't or if there are any questions, they send the questions to us to respond. There are times that the problem may require an office visit or be too complex to sort of do through messaging that way, so sometimes we may ask them to come in to see us or to go to the walk-in, or, as a matter of fact, the emergency department.
Melanie: And, what's the difference between asking your care team a question this way or emailing your doctor?
Dr. Gordon: So, we don't allow direct emails to the doctors. It’s all done through My Aspirus because we want everything to be part of your chart. So, if something would come up later, other providers can see what exactly has taken place, what thought process has been gone through in order to answer the patient's questions or concerns.
Melanie: Is there another way to get medical advice without an in-person visit? Tell us about e-Visits.
Dr. Gordon: Sure. So, the other thing that you can do as you brought up, is an e-visit. So, for anybody that's an Aspirus patient, we do allow e-Visits. Those are an electronic visit that you are charged for separately. There are about ten different complaints or concerns that you can do. Sore throat, red eye, cough, a possible sinus infection, back pain, etc. Depending upon what question or what complaint you have, you get a different questionnaire on-line. You need to answer all the different question so that we can, of course, help you to the best of our ability, and if we complete the e-visit with you, so, if we say, "This is what we're going to do for you. This is what we're going to prescribe, or these exercises," or whatever the case is, the cost for the e-visit, I believe, is $35.00. Otherwise, if for some reason we re-direct you to an office visit appointment and we don't think it can be done over electronically, then no fee is charged at this time. It's not subject to deductible. It's outside of your insurance program entirely.
Melanie: Dr. Gordon, who can use an e-visit?
Dr. Gordon: So, currently anybody who's an Aspirus patient can use and e-visit. They need to have been seen usually by somebody in primary care or specialty care in order to have an e-visit because we want you to already have a relationship with somebody.
Melanie: Do they have to be 18 years or older? Is it for adults or can teens use it, as well?
Dr. Gordon: Currently, it's for only adults, 18 years and older. We are looking at the possibility of opening up to younger aged people.
Melanie: And, what about safety and security of this information? Explain to the listeners a little bit about that.
Dr. Gordon: So, everything that's done with an e-visit, or everything on My Aspirus you're doing directly through the My Aspirus portal which is safe and secure, password protected, going over a secure internet connection. When we respond back to you, you will receive an email or an alert on your smartphone, if you're doing it that way, that there's a response waiting for you but no information is actually transmitted to your email other than “please log in to your My Aspirus” to let you know there's something to go there for but no actual medical information is sent to your personal email or device. You have to be in the secure portal in order to actually view the information.
Melanie: Dr. Gordon, in this age of self-advocacy for our own best health care, what do you see as My Aspirus' role in helping people be their own best advocate?
Dr. Gordon: So, I see the role of My Aspirus as letting you be involved on your own time. We all lead very busy lives, more so than I think we have in the past and have a big time crunch and there are a lot of people who work other shifts, not just a normal, let's say 9-5, they may be a second or third shift worker. So, it's much harder to reach somebody at times when everybody's available. So, this sort of, let’s you have asynchronous, which is a complicated word for basically just saying “communication when you're available”. You know you're not going to necessarily get a response immediately. It's not like a phone call conversation where you're having a simultaneous two-way conversation, but you can make requests on your schedule and then, when we're in the office on a normal schedule, we can respond back to you and that's the expectation. You know, if you need immediate care, obviously, you need to see your physician, or an urgent care, walk-in, emergency room, something of that sort, but for things that don't need that immediate attention, it's a really good way to get things done. However, I do want to emphasize that it doesn't totally replace always going to your doctor. You still need your annual checkup and if you have chronic problems, diabetes, or heart failure, or high blood pressure, you still need to get seen, because there is no replacement for having that relationship and having that physical exam done by your provider to make sure other things aren't coming up that we're not otherwise going to be able to see.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Dr. Gordon. It's really great information. And, for more information about My Aspirus, you can go to www.aspirus.org. That's www.aspirus.org. You're listening to Aspirus Health Talk. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.