Remote Behavioral Health Brings the Doctor Home

Telepsychiatry is the newest entry into remote telehealth offerings by American Well.

The company, focused on transforming healthcare delivery, addresses basic health issues as well as chronic conditions.  American Well already serves 50 million covered Americans through its Amwell video app or work with major health insurers.

Why the move into remote behavioral health services?  It's logical when you consider the numbers.  According to Dr. Zereana Jess-Huff, American Well VP of Behavioral Health:

"Every year one in four people will deal with a mental health disorder, yet less than half of these individuals will actually receive treatment... "

The service launched in selected states the week of September 12th with nationwide coverage expected in early 2017.

Read more about American Well's move into behavioral health. 

Drugstore Giant Partners to Offer Telehealth

Walgreens Boots Alliance, the merged drugstore and health retailer, is rolling out a new mobile app.  The latest app goes beyond facilitating Rx refills and a pharmacist chat to enable shoppers to consult with a doctor virtually via smartphone.  (MDLive, a telehealth provider, is Walgreens' partner.)

Already tested in California and Michigan, the app will go live for Illinois Walgreens' shoppers at the end of May.  The virtual doctor app is expected to roll out to 25 states by the end of 2015.  >>Read more

Tele-health Green-Light

Industry stakeholders are applauding Medicare's step toward expanding tele-health coverage with its proposed update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2015.  California politicians have also seen the light…The governor recently signed a bill that purports to make tele-health easier for rural patients to use. 

The fact that there is greater acceptance of the technology and approach is not lost among early stage investors…Teladoc, a provider of 24/7 tele-health consultations, is the beneficiary of $50M more in new venture capital funding.

For more information: 
Telemedicine Interest Surges 
Rx for the Future?

Urgent Care Update...

-Alliance Urgent Care to be Acquired

-Concentra Expands Footprint in KY

Capital Group Holdings announced that it will acquire privately owned Alliance Urgent Care, an organization operating six clinics in the greater Phoenix, AZ area.  Alliance will be renamed OneHealth Urgent Care to be consistent with the branding of Capital Group's telehealth subsidiary, OneHealthPass ™ (OHP).  OHP is designed to become an industry standard telehealth platform for the management and administration of patient-centric telemedicine programs.  Dr. Michael Blumhoff, Alliance CEO, will continue as CEO of the OHP Urgent Care group once the deal is finalized. -->  >>Read more

Urgent Treatment Clinics (UTC) with seven medical centers in the Lexington, KY area is Concentra's latest acquisition.  The Urgent Treatment Clinic name will be preserved according to Concentra, the national provider of urgent care services and subsidiary of Humana, Inc.  Former UTC owners, Dr. Fadi Bacha and Dr. Larry Burns, have been retained by Concentra and will continue providing patient care to residents of Lexington and its surrounding communities.  >>Read more 

6 Niche Markets for Telemedicine

Expansion of telemedicine programs at the federal, state and local level continues with the market forecasted by Pike & Fischer to reach $3.6B by 2014, up over 300% from the 2009 level.  Recently introduced legislation, the “Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support” (VETS) Act of 2012” (H.R.6107), aims to increase veteran health care access as the bill expands the current VA state licensure exemption.  
While telemedicine works its way into primary care, it has gained acceptance in a number of medical specialties:

Radiology – most established telemedicine niche

Dermatology – mirrors system used by teleradiology

Behavioral Health – leverages technology to aid returning soldiers

Correctional Health Care – means to cut costs

Ocular Health – used for screenings for diabetic retinopathy

Pediatric Sub-specialties – helpful for underserved patient populations

Source:  MedCity News - Stephanie Baum  >>Read more

Rx for the Future?

Telemedicine – it’s not a new specialty, rather a means of delivering medical information...electronically (e.g.: telephones, website, email, webcams, etc.).  A 2010 Intel survey of health care decision makers suggests that this emerging market will transform the health care industry in the next decade.  In financial terms, a more recent study by BCC Research estimates growth of 18.6% from 2011 to 2016 to over $27B.

What’s behind the growth? Joan Voight, CNBC.com in a recent post, Telemedicine: A Prescription For Lower Health-Care Costs? cites examples of satisfied small business owners.  Along with employees enjoying the convenience of a virtual exam, health care providers are embracing the alternative delivery system. Although provider payment policies are evolving, many third party payers including Medicare and private health insurance plans are beginning to pay for online visits.  Typically, the online rate is lower than a face-to-face visit but it’s better than no reimbursement at all.