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Doctors must have at the very least Board Certification and current licensure to be selected for our Doctor On Call program. Board Certification means that the physician has passed an intensive written examination and extensive training requirements. Board Certification is also above and beyond the requirements for state licensure and requires reexamination every seven to 10 years depending on specialty. We also look for doctors who have a preventative and integrative approach using all forms of medical and lifestyle practices, not just the traditional pharmaceutical model.

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At this time, Doctor On Call has more than 240 Board Certified physicians on-call. Additionally, a pool of more Board Certified physicians stands ready to come on board when needed. As our program grows, the resources are available to sufficiently maintain our mandated quality of service.

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A Board Certified physician has completed his or her mandatory training and subsequently passed rigorous examinations in his or her specialty area. Beyond their initial training and testing, Board Certified physicians also are required to regularly participate in rigorous continuing education programs, equipping them with the most current medical information and knowledge of the latest medical advances. Only 40 percent of the doctors in the U.S. are Board Certified, proof that these physicians have pursued – and continue to pursue – the standards to represent the best our nation has to offer.

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Our physicians are instructed NOT to make a diagnosis or offer any type of treatments. However, when a caller asks a question, our physicians can provide them with specific answers to their concerns. For example, if the person calls about a fever and wants to know if they need to be seen by a doctor, the physician does not diagnose based on symptoms, but offers information on why fevers could be a concern and how they are generally handled. The American Medical Association has reported that as many as 70 percent of all doctor’s office visits are informational only. Doctor On Call complements physicians by empowering the consumer to make wiser health care decisions while, at the same time, giving the caller peace of mind.

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No, our Doctor On Call physicians do not refer to any specific doctor or facility. This allows our physicians to maintain trust and objectivity with the caller. Our physicians do inform the callers how to choose the right physician by explaining how to determine Board Certification and other qualifications. Based on the caller’s needs, they will recommend that he or she see a doctor if necessary.

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Doctor On Call offers all the advantages of nurse lines while providing a whole new level of health information for the caller. Most health information lines offer recorded information or nurses who are required to follow a flow sheet of information — essentially no more than a live voice reading a script. In contrast, Doctor On Call provides the credibility of easily-accessible Board Certified physicians who are not asked to adhere to scripts or protocols. They use their extensive training and experience to deal with each caller’s personalized needs. Each caller is given specific information about their questions, based on the physician’s expertise.

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Our doctors give their names at their discretion. Callers may not request the same doctor as we do not seek to establish a physician-patient relationship at this time, although this service is coming the future..

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There are no recordings of individual Doctor On Call calls. However, all calls are documented by PIN number, time of call, duration and the physician who took the call. Doctor On Call does not document call content in order to maintain confidentiality, but the physicians personally make recorded notes of a call’s outcome following the call. This is of importance especially to health plan providers, assuring them of solid documentation in case of liability issues.

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Because Doctor On Call physicians do not practice medicine (e.g. do not diagnose, treat or prescribe), liability is kept to a minimum. In the past eight years of operations, there has not been a single claim. In addition, no claims based on a telephone conversation with physicians were found in the professional liability literature in any venue.

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Wellness Group carries liability insurance from Lexington Insurance Company, a AAA-rated company. We carry $1MM/$1MM coverage and higher limits are available to meet specific client needs. Certificates of insurance are available upon request.