One of the foremost names in home telehealth services has added mobile capabilities to its online platform, enabling consumers to connect almost instantly with physicians on tablets and smartphones.
The October 8 announcement by American Well marks a new direction for the Boston-based telehealth provider, which has long focused on health plans, self-insured businesses and providers. The company is now offering that service to consumers, with the pledge that they can connect with a board-certified physician in minutes on any iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or tablet, as well as via any web browser and in some healthcare kiosks.
Company CEO Roy Schoenberg, MD, MPH, said they've been planning on including mobile access for some time now, but have been cautious.
"Patients are now becoming more comfortable using mobile platforms," he told mHealthNews. "We were actually shocked that the experience … ended up receiving better marks from both physicians and patients than accessing healthcare" through the company's online platform.
"Mobile devices have actually developed (to the point that they are) full-blown video conferences ready to go … in the palm of your hand," Schoenberg said. He also noted that many consumers are choosing mobile devices over the PC because "it seems like the path to care is faster." To wit: They can connect instantly with a physician, and they can conduct that conversation wherever they feel comfortable, instead of sitting in front of a computer in what might be a busy work area or kitchen.
One caveat: Schoenberg said current 3G and 4G networks aren't reliable enough to support healthcare interactions, so only Wi-Fi is allowed. And while consumers now have access via mobile devices, he said physicians are still required to provide their services through a web portal.
To provide those real-time clinical services, American Well turned to the Online Care Group, billed as the nation's first and largest physician-owned primary and urgent care group focused on video telehealth. The physicians are available around-the-clock in 44 states and the District of Columbia, and prescribe from a safe, certified formulary that does not include controlled substances.
“When you’re not well, and you need a doctor’s advice and maybe a prescription, American Well is the fastest, easiest and most affordable way to get it,” said Peter Antall, the group's medical director, in a press release. “Online Care Group physicians are available around the clock, across the nation, ready to help.”
“We are committed to expanding across America,” Schoenberg added in the release. “Video telehealth is rapidly eclipsing older telephone-based doctor or nurse callback services that do not offer either the transparency or the choice consumers expect from modern services, nor the level of clinical safety, insight, documentation and care continuity that live video encounters on American Well offer.”
American Well charges $49 per visit, and notes most office or urgent care clinics charge more than $65 and as much as $120 for a visit – while the typical trip to an emergency room can run upwards of $1,000.
Launched in 2009 in a project with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, American Well has forged a number of significant partnerships since then, working with Tufts Medical Center to treat patients in Haiti, connecting with retirement villages in Florida through the University of South Florida and providing home-based care for veterans via the Department of Veterans Affairs. The company also has programs with Ascension Health, Rite Aid, WellPoint, OptumHealth and Blue Cross and Blue Shield chapters in western and northeastern New York and North Carolina; is providing online care to people in Australia and New Zealand through Medibank; and recently launched a partnership with Allscripts to integrate telehealth into electronic health records.
“Our business partners collectively cover over 100 million lives,” Schoenberg said in the press release. “We are working together to make telehealth a covered benefit for everyone.”
Schoenberg said the next frontier may very well be kiosks. American Well does have a presence in some retail-based health kiosks, but he expects that market to grow as the concept and technology improve.
