Telehealth service provider American Well is getting ready to launch telehealth “exchanges,” where patients can search for physicians able to provide immediate online consultations or in-office visits on short notice. Physicians also will be able to make themselves available whenever they have a free time slot.
American Well CEO Dr. Roy Schoenberg previewed the service Wednesday at mHealth + Telehealth World in Boston. He said it would debut within the next few weeks.
Schoenberg called this new offering part of “telehealth 2.0,” in which telehealth is simply a part of regular practice of medicine, complete with integration into electronic health records and practice management systems. Contrast this with the “telehealth 1.0” world that often involved drug seekers; Schoenberg showed a screenshot of an unnamed telehealth group that touted itself as being “proud to be the champions of Z-Pak.”
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Each American Well exchange will concentrate on a specific medical specialty or nonmedical area of concern, such as diet and nutrition.
Schoenberg sees this telehealth 2.0 as highly disruptive, and he said American Well aspires to the simplicity and power of the iPhone. “The iPhone has no user manual, but [older technology like] a microwave does,” he said.
“This does not work at the pace of implementing an EHR. This works at the pace of consumer electronics,” Schoenberg added.
Schoenberg declined to discuss the status of a pending lawsuit against competitor Teladoc.
