In a move that will give HealthTap customers faster access to their lab test results the virtual care business has worked out a deal with national lab business Quest Diagnostics, according to a company statement.
The deal is something of a milestone for HealthTap, which started out as a pool of physicians that would email responses to patient queries, but later added telemedicine. Its pool of physicians has increased to 71,000. It comes as direct to consumer digital health providers look for ways to extend their services with collaboration partners that have the resources to support testing and other needs.
Doctors will have the ability to order common lab tests such as diabetes screening, cardiovascular risk assessment, hepatitis C screening.
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Among the things the collaboration will put in place will be routine tests that can be done soon after patients visit one of Quest’s patient service centers. In addition:
- Ordering doctors can view the results directly via HealthTap’s secure platform, help patients interpret their results, and provide appropriate medical advice, treatment, and prescriptions at a much faster pace, improving patient care and outcomes.
- Patients can access results from their mobile device or personal computer through HealthTap’s platform or Quest Diagnostics’ MyQuest app.
HealthTap CEO Ron Gutman noted in a phone interview the deal will mean little change for the way physicians order tests for their online patients, but for consumers it means they won’t have to make repeat trips to get the tests done and receive the results.
Dr. Jay Wohlgemuth, senior vice president and chief healthcare officer, HealthTap said the collaboration would help HealthTap and Quest Diagnostics confront barriers that have produced major gaps in care and in a cost-effective way. In a statement he said:
“Although it is well-established that diagnostic testing strategies for cardiovascular risk, infectious diseases, and other areas can improve care and prevent complications, these interventions don’t always reach as many patients as they potentially could. The first step in alleviating this gap in care is to get people at risk to the doctor. Improved access to specialists through virtual care combined with Quest’s testing solutions will have a significant positive impact in enabling greater access, reducing wait times and accelerating care.”
Quest Diagnostics CIO Lidia Fonseca said its collaboration with HealthTap would help it provide medical services to the growing number of digital healthcare patients.
One of the challenges leading up to the partnership going live was getting the interface right. An IT working group made up of HealthTap and Quest staff developed the Interface and tested it to make sure it worked as designed.
Photo: Flickr user Stavos
