This summer telehealth services provider Teladoc plans to launch a group of iPhone and iPad medical apps for physicians that will enable them to collaborate using Apple's FaceTime videocalling app. Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic announced the company's plans during a presentation at the Wireless Life-Sciences Alliance (WLSA) Convergence Summit in San Diego this week.

Teladoc offers consumers consultations with licensed physicians for routine medical issues. The visits are on-demand and can be scheduled any time -- day or night -- and any day of the week. Currently the consultations can take place over the phone or via a video chat online.

Gorevic also said that half of Teladoc's physician users are already performing consultations from their mobile devices.

Teladoc has completed 80,000 consultations, which last about 12 minutes on average. Patients typically wait an average of 22 minutes before an appointment, Gorevic said. One unnamed employer customer of Teladoc's reportedly reduced emergency room visits among its employee population by 6.4 percent, according to Gorevic.

Following a question from the audience, Gorevic said Teladoc is starting with iPhone and iPad apps because doctors love iOS devices, but a similar Android app -- using a different video chat service, of course -- will follow and be available this year. The company will decide at a later date which mobile platform will follow their Android launch.