You get a call time on your call sheet of 5AM. At that moment, you know it's going to be a long day because it also says that there are evening shots to be done. It is not a regular 10-12HR day. It's going to be a 16hr day and possibly longer. And depending on who you are on set, you are scrounging for that $150/12hrs or $300/12hrs because in this industry, it's practically 100% freelance work. You just don't have the money to drive to a physician that you need, or the copay or any other tests that you probably do not need to waste your money on. You are thinking to yourself, "but I have this massive headache that just won't go away even with over-the-counter drugs for migraines and I really need to see a doctor for a prescription medication."
You are in the Grip and Electric department and it is a back-bending job. You try and talk with craft services, catering for any medication that they have available for that condition you are experiencing. So not only does your head hurt but your back hurts just as much and items such as Advil or Tylenol is not working for you.
But you are on set past 5 or 6PM and those are the hours that doctors usually leave their office and close for the day. You need a prescription medication. Well, I've been through all of this and I have seen improvement in healthcare since leaving the industry.
TeleHealth and TeleMedicine have changed the face of healthcare for those in the industry. It is the implementation of an online doctor using iPhones, iPads, Androids, tablets. any front facing camera product available to connect you with them. You have already setup the next shot for the next scene, you are probably standing around or sitting on an apple box doing nothing but playing Angry Birds on your phone. You can now call your doctor, call a nurse, call your medical professional and speak with them via over-the-air. Consultations last only 15-20 minutes and that's more than enough time to introduce your condition, talk with the physician, diagnosed and have your prescription sent to the nearest pharmacy where you are. When that lunch break happens, whether it is 30 minutes or 1HR, it doesn't start until the last person gets through the line and that is plenty of time to get down to the local pharmacy to pick up the prescription for that headache or that back pain that you are experiencing so you can survive the remainder of your 16 hour day. These services begin at around $20-40 a call which is very reasonable considering some co-pays are as high as $30 even with insurance. And that prices usually allows you unlimited minutes with the physician.
And with monitoring devices in the world of TeleHealth, older crew members who have been experiencing heart condition related problems, can carry these devices that will automatically transmit their information over the air and have it received by the online doctor or online nurse in their respective hospital or office. And if there is a problem, they simply call the patient back and consult and prescribe.
The only current barrier is reimbursement. The adoption of TeleMedicine is still not as imaginable for insurers to carry the idea. The idea of still seeing a physician in-house is the norm, the "old school" way of medicine.
0 comments:
Post a Comment