Startups, Telemedicine

Humana and Doctor on Demand launch new virtual primary care health plan

Dubbed On Hand, Doctor on Demand touts the new plan as a way to give patients comprehensive services outside of traditional sites of care for "significantly lower monthly premiums."

telemedicine, telehealth, telecare, doctor, technology

Virtual care has been positioned as a key solution as rising healthcare costs push stakeholders to look toward technology as a way to provide triage, lower cost care and steerage services.

In an example of this trendline, San Francisco-based telemedicine provider Doctor on Demand has signed a partnership with Humana to create a new health plan that places virtual primary care as a central part of benefit offerings.

Dubbed On Hand, Doctor on Demand touts the new plan as a way to give patients comprehensive services outside of traditional sites of care for “significantly lower monthly premiums.”

The offering will initially be priced between $150 and $200 a month and offer $0 copays for any video visits done through Doctor on Demand. Common labs and prescriptions will have a $5 copay.

Doctor on Demand initially launched in 2013 to provide on-demand urgent care visits directly to consumers. Since then, the company has shifted its core customer base to self-funded employers and health plans looking to plug into the potential cost savings of telemedicine visits.

The company has raised more than $160 million in funding since its founding, including a $74 million Series C round last year led by Princeville Global and Goldman Sachs Investment Partners.

While telemedicine is generally a part of health plan offerings from employers, these services have traditionally suffered from low utilization. The idea is by centering virtual care in plan design, usage can be driven up and costs can be driven down.

“By partnering with Doctor On Demand, Humana is leading the market with a modern approach to meeting the health plan needs of employers and employees,” Chris Hunter, Humana’s Group & Military segment president, said in a statement.

“Through virtual care delivery, On Hand gives employers the opportunity to affordably offer healthcare benefits to employees without sacrificing comprehensive, quality care.”

Humana members who choose On Hand as their plan will be assigned a dedicated primary care physician, as well as telemedicine access to preventive care, urgent care and behavioral health.

Patients will be given a digital blood pressure cuff, thermometer and log to collects vitals a home. Those requiring additional care will be given specialist referrals to in-person appointments in Humana’s network

The news comes on a few months after the launch of Doctor on Demand’s virtual care platform Synapse, which expanded the company’s clinical services to include nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dietitians and care coordinators.

Synapse’s increased capabilities were meant to broaden the company’s services in urgent care and behavioral health into areas like preventive health and chronic disease management.

It also serves to more easily link comprehensive virtual primary care services with existing provider networks and includes a “digital medical home” which collects personal clinical information in an easily accessible form.

“As we move toward the future, most primary care will have to look like this in order to be accessible to everyone,” Ferguson said when Synapse launched. “If you’re trying to take care of the 300 million-plus people in the United States you’ve got to use a virtual front door to get there.”

Photo: IAN HOOTON, Getty Images

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