Douglas Smith, MD, the medical founder of Minute Clinic, joins Consult A Doctor, Inc. as Chief Medical Officer; calls Consult A Doctor “the next evolution in medical care delivery, increasing access and lowering costs.”

Miami, FL (PRWEB) April 13, 2010 -- Consult A Doctor, Inc. announced today that Douglas Smith, board-certified family practice physician and pioneer of retail medical clinics, has joined as its Chief Medical Officer. Consult A Doctor is a nationwide telemedicine service provider of 24/7 access to physician consultations by phone and online.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Smith on our team. He brings years of experience and a deep understanding of the delivery of quality care in an accessible and affordable way with new disruptive business models,” said Wolf Shlagman, CEO. Mr. Shlagman added, “He will help to expand our telemedicine service offerings with specialist consultations, lab services and telemonitoring in addition to leveraging our online software platform for use by health plan providers and their own physician networks.”

Consult A Doctor’s telemedicine services reduce health care costs for all payers by providing members with convenient efficient access to medically equivalent care in a lower-cost setting, reducing unnecessary doctor and ER visits by up to 80%.

In 1999, Douglas Smith, M.D. and his partners formed the idea of a retail health care model: convenient clinic locations staffed by physician-supervised nurse practitioners who could focus treatment to common family medical conditions. They set out to offer the same top-quality care expected from a primary doctor's office, urgent care center or emergency room, but made quick and affordable. CVS acquired Minute Clinic for over $200 million in 2005. Today, Minute Clinic operates over 500 clinics in 25 states.

“I joined Consult A Doctor because it was apparent that there was a great synergy between the utilization of evidence-based medical care, technology and patient knowledge allowing more of the care that can be delivered by telephone and online. Consult A Doctor’s platform allows more complete medical offerings than the others that I have looked at,” Dr. Smith said.

“I believe that consumers have become educated regarding the availability of alternative methods of accessing lower cost, high quality care and Consult A Doctor is well positioned to address many current and future problems facing the American health system, bringing disruptive change in the way medical care gets accessed and delivered.” said Dr. Smith.
About Consult A Doctor, Inc.

Consult A Doctor partners with health insurance companies, self-insured groups, third-party administrators, brokers and others to offer convenient 24/7 access to doctor consultations by phone and online to their members and customers. Its proprietary nationwide network of U.S.-based physicians provides specific answers to medical questions and advice regarding non-emergency, routine medical conditions. All Consult A Doctor physicians are carefully screened, credentialed and have malpractice insurance coverage. They discuss symptoms, recommend treatment options, diagnose many minor conditions, and can prescribe medication when appropriate. Consult A Doctor’s telemedicine service reduces healthcare cost for all payers by providing members with convenient efficient access to medically equivalent care in a lower-cost setting, and considerably reduce unnecessary doctor, ER and urgent care visits.

For more information about Consult A Doctor – call 888-688-DOCTOR (888-688-3628) or visit http://www.consultadoctor.com