HealthSpot, a maker of telemedicine kiosks, appears to have gone out of business.
Two of the Dublin, Ohio-based vendor’s most prominent partners confirmed to MedCity News on Tuesday that they were no longer working with HealthSpot.
“They’re no longer operational in our facilities,” a Cleveland Clinic spokesperson said. The Cleveland Clinic had entered into a joint venture with HealthSpot in May 2014 to place freestanding kiosks in Clinic and retail locations.
Similarly, pharmacy chain Rite Aid said that it, too, has ended its partnership with HealthSpot in three Ohio markets. According to an e-mailed statement from Rite Aid:
On Monday, Dec. 28, Rite Aid was notified by HealthSpot of its intention to cease operations effective Thursday, Dec. 31. As a result, the 25 HealthSpot stations located inside select Rite Aid pharmacies in Cleveland, Akron/Canton and Dayton/Springfield will no longer be available to Rite Aid patients and customers after 5pm Thursday, Dec. 31.
Rite Aid appreciated the opportunity to offer HealthSpot services to our patients and customers over the past year. We believe very much in the value of telehealth and will continue to explore options to offer such services in the future.
Attempts to reach HealthSpot were unsuccessful. A marketing agency that formerly worked with HealthSpot said that the company officially issued a “no comment,” but did not provide a contact with HealthSpot. A call to corporate headquarters ended up in a mailbox that was not accepting messages.
Also, the “Find A HealthSpot” link on the HealthSpot website was dead, as was the “Patient Login” link.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
As recently as a year ago, HealthSpot was still raising money.
Photo: HealthSpot
