Beginning this week, UnityPoint Health patients will be charged for some messages they send to providers that require “a provider’s clinical time and medical expertise,” the health care provider said, according to a report from Channel3000.
Use of the online MyUnityPoint Portal platform has more than doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not all online provider interactions will result in a bill, UnityPoint said. Appointment scheduling, prescription refills, quick health updates, and questions about issues a patient visited their doctor for in the past week, among others, are excluded from billing.
However, requests for new prescriptions, changes to medications, and messages about new symptoms could result in charges. Costs will vary, but patients with high deductible insurance plans or no insurance could see costs between $36 and $70, according to UnityPoint.
