'Virtual Tool Kits' Bring Doctor To Timnath Family's Living Room

TIMNATH, Colo. (CBS4) – A doctor in Northern Colorado says she is the first in the state of Colorado to use new technology to evaluate and diagnose children from the comforts of their home. Dr. Amanda Harding of ZZAP Pediatrics and Wellness in Timnath is issuing parents "virtual tool kits."

They allow her to check ears, noses, throats, heart rates, temperatures and more remotely.

Harding's subscription-based services have attracted more than 150 pediatric patients in less than one year. Kelsey Chavez, the mother of four children under the age of five, was one of the first to sign up for the convenient and modern form of medicine.

"We refer to it as a doctor concierge service, because that is what it feels like," Chavez told CBS4's Dillon Thomas.

As a customer, Chavez is given 24-hour access to Dr. Harding. At any time, or any location, she can plug an electronic scope in to her computer and send live images back to the doctor's office. Harding guarantees a one-hour response time.

"If you're on vacation in the Dominican Republic, you can take me on vacation (virtually) with you," Harding said. "If we can take you from having to wait for the doctor, waiting for a call back from the office, to having instant care wherever you are that is the most important thing."

For the Chavez family, and many others in Northern Colorado, the convenience is the main take away. Chavez said taking four children, one sick, to the doctor's office for a checkup would often last more than one hour.

"Every single time packing up all the kids and heading to the doctor's office," Chavez said. "Taking healthy kids to a sick-kid doctor office, not good."

Chavez said she used the services multiple times in the first months of paying for it. One night she was even able to reach the doctor in time to know she needed to rush her infant son to the hospital. Chavez said, as a cautious and concerned mother, being able to check before going to the hospital is worth the cost.

"It is really is the future of health care... to have something so at your fingertips," Chavez said.

Harding said the manufacturer of the electronic scoping devices told her she was the only doctor in Colorado currently using their technology. She is licensed to work in multiple states, allowing her to evaluate patients from around the country.

However, the service does not come free like many on call over-the-phone nurses through insurance programs. Harding says the virtual tool kit costs $150 to purchase. From there, she often charges $15 a month per-child for the first three children in a family.

For more information on the virtual tool kit, or how you can sign up for Dr. Harding's services from anywhere in Colorado visit https://www.zzpeds.com/.