Doctors using virtual visits to stop the flu from spreading

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – This year’s flu season is sending people to hospitals in record-breaking numbers, with many ending up in emergency rooms.

Many doctors are urging people with flu-like symptoms to stay at home and contact a physician for a virtual diagnosis.

“Just like how we are talking right now it would allow a patient to be seen from the comfort of their home or their office for any kind of basic simple concern or medical issue,” says the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Matthew Faiman.

Faiman has diagnosed hundreds of patients with the flu using the hospital’s clinic Express Care virtual app connecting patients with doctors virtually through their phone or computer.

“We will have people participate in their own exams. I will have them press on their sinuses, even shine a light in the back of their throat, I’ll even have them jump up and down. this will help me what the diagnosis is,” he says.