CINCINNATI, Ohio — What we used to know as a doctor’s visit is not the same anymore.

Instead of coming to the doctor’s office, sitting in a waiting room, and coming in contact with the doctor, concerns of catching the coronavirus have more people opting for this.

“Even in the past couple days we’ve seen visits double overnight, really overnight,” said Dr. James Wantuck, chief medical officer and co-founder of PlushCare.

• Telemedicine is a way that you can see your doctor through video calling
• PlushCare says each doctor is seeing at least 40 patients a day because of the outbreak
• PlushCare is working on a way to do at-home coronavirus test kits

Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Wantuck helped create PlushCare — a network of doctors who practice telemedicine. 

“The doctor will ask you several questions, how are you feeling, when did your symptoms start, all the normal stuff you might get at a doctor’s office, and they might even use the camera to do a more visual inspection, how do you look, do you look really sick, we can see your sore throat, we can hear you coughing, all those things add to making a diagnosis,” said Wantuck. 
 
He says they’re now making a diagnosis for at least 40 sick patients a day, all without ever physically being there. 
 
Asked how that is done effectively and accurately, Wantuck replied, “We do train the physicians on how to do these visits and it turns out that a lot of how doctors make decisions is based on the conversation they have with you and the questions and your story about the illness you have.” 

He says sometimes if an illness like the coronavirus turns serious, it might require more than telemedicine. 
 
Here’s how you can tell the difference:  Typical coronavirus symptoms are cough, fever and shortness of breath. 
 
If you have trouble breathing, can’t catch your breath, or are so sick you can’t stay hydrated, go to the hospital. 
 
But Wantuck says they’re doing something else to help patients tell the difference. 

“Something PlushCare is launching soon is the ability to get a test in the mail, or we’ll mail you a test, you take it and you mail it back in and get your results without having to go in,” said Wantuck. 
 
He says they’re still working on getting at-home coronavirus test kits, but for now, you can go to the doctor with video and an app. 

The PlushCare network has more than 100 doctors who are in Ohio and across the country, but the demand for telemedicine is so high right now that they're looking for more doctors to help amid the coronavirus outbreak.