One of the benefits of broadband Internet is that it can be a catalyst for bridging the divide between those with health insurance and those without it.

Here are some examples of how healthcare can be more affordable for the uninsured:

• Based in Boston, American Well went live in January with a web service that allows people to communicate with doctors through online video, chat rooms or by telephone. Keep in mind, this is a consultation with a doctor, not your doctor.

Currently, the service is only available in Hawaii through the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state’s Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate. HMSA insured patients pay $10 for a 10-minute consultation, while uninsured or non-member patients pay $45.

• On the East coast, SwiftMD allows patients in New York and New Jersey to request a consultation online. After an assessment to ensure a patient’s condition is not a medical emergency, an emergency-trained physician returns the call within 30 minutes, day or night.

The site also allows members to refill prescriptions, access extensive health information and much more, for a monthly membership fee of $5. (Consultations cost $55.) There are both individual and family plans.

The possibilities don’t stop here. Similar services in other states are emerging as telemedicine continues to provide low-cost alternatives for the uninsured.

While there are skeptics, analysts and experts believe telemedicine could result in huge savings by keeping individuals and the uninsured from having go to hospital emergency rooms for unnecessary or inappropriate reasons.

The ranks of the uninsured can only swell with the rise in unemployment. Creative solutions drawing on investments in technology can be just what the doctor ordered.