Atlanta company offers new twist on doctor house calls

ATLANTA — A visit to an emergency room or urgent care with your kids can be expensive.

It can also be a hassle for a family dealing with a sick child.

That's why an Atlanta-based company called Medzed developed a system that brings a pediatrician into your home via the Internet. It's a modern twist on the house call.

Atlanta mom Shelley King scheduled an appointment with Medzed when her 10-year-old son, Kai, complained of a sore throat.

"We can stay at home and continue to work for three hours doing our conference calls," said King.

"It's pretty neat because it's cutting-edge technology," said Tiffany Holland, an ER nurse who works for Medzed.

When Holland arrives at a home for an appointment she begins by giving the patient an initial exam. When she's ready, she logs into a secure encrypted site where she, the parents and the child are able to video chat with the doctor.

The doctor examines the child by using medical devices connected to the computers bluetooth.

Dr. Zerah Gorham is an ER doctor who works for Medzed. She believes the quality of a Medzed exam is just as good as if the child were sitting in her office.

"The patient and the parent are talking directly to a physician, they are not just giving information to a nurse or to a computer and having someone spit out a prescription,” Gorham explained. “I am on the other side of that screen but I can see everything as clear as a bell. I can look in the nose, ears, heart and lung as if I'm there."

Gorham also believes the level of comfort children feel being able to stay at home allows her to perform a more thorough exam.

"They see the white coat and they are screaming they are uncomfortable they don't want to sit on my exam table. Here I have the white coat on and I'm safe. I'm behind the computer screen," said Gorham.

Scott Schnell is co-founder of Medzed. He says the goal is to partner with pediatricians across the country and possibly expand the company’s care to the elderly and the home-bound.

"What we have found is that parents and patients want to be dealt with now, and if the doctor’s office is closed at 5 o’clock they are looking for an alternative that will work for them," said Schnell.

The cost for a Medzed visit is $150, but Schnell says it's worth it to submit the visit to your insurance.

"The cost when submitted to insurance can be as low as zero out of pocket. It could be $60 or $70," Schnell said.

WSBTV