Cleveland Clinic is beginning to see some modest results from its first effort with digital doctor visits.

The digital doctor program, launched in June 2015 in Ohio with telehealth platform and services provider American Well, is now generating about 400 visits per month, the health system says.

The MyCare Online telemedicine service allows a patient to use an app to communicate quickly with a healthcare provider via a mobile device, desktop computer or tablet. That provider can evaluate, diagnose and treat an ailment and prescribe medication. The cost of a digital doctor visit is $49.

Its tremendously more convenient, because people can be seen from home or work. For certain conditions, theres no need to drive anywhere, says Cleveland Clinic medical director Dr. Peter Rasmussen. A private, secure video visit will often be sufficient to judge the seriousness of a rash, an earache or flu-like symptoms or other minor healthcare issue, Rasmussen says.

MyCare Online is designed to diagnose and treat many other acute health symptoms, including cough, urinary tract infection, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever and headaches, he says.

The online service can be accessed from a free app called Cleveland Clinic MyCare, downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store and at Cevelandclinicmycareonline.org. If medically needed a prescription can be sent electronically to the pharmacy of the patients choosing, Rasmussen says.

MyCare Online makes the geographical location and time of day a patient needs care largely irrelevant, he says.

The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic hospital located in Cleveland and is owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921. In addition to its flagship hospital in Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic also operates hospitals in Florida, Nevada, Canada and Abu Dhabi.