Patients in Minnesota will be the first in the continental United States to have real-time access to a “virtual clinic,” where they can talk with a physician who can make diagnoses and prescribe medications via the Web or a phone.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and the Boston-based American Well Corporation are uniting to bring American Well’s Online Care to Minnesota.
The agreement offers Minnesotans an option for care that complements traditional healthcare, according to Pat Geraghty, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
The health insurer is rolling out Online Care to its 10,000 employees and family members at the company’s campuses in Eagan and Virginia, Minn. Blue Cross intends to make it available to employer groups and additional consumers as soon as 2010.
“We believe that in order to get healthcare costs under control … new care models are critical,” said Geraghty.
“We can’t continue to deliver care the same way we have been doing for years and expect the cost and access equation to change.”
David W. Moen, MD, medical director of care model innovation at Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services, agreed that there is a desperate need to evaluate new approaches.
“We think that looking at new ways to serve patients is critical work for healthcare leaders,” said Moen. “Online Care has promise, and given that our market has a history of innovation in care, it’s exciting that this new option is coming to (Minnesota).”
Online Care allows consumers real-time, live interactions with physicians and other providers. The virtual clinics will emphasize treatment for common illnesses and monitoring care for patients with chronic illnesses and preventive and wellness care.
“The introduction of virtual clinics creates a model for new care options across the nation,” said Ido Schoenberg, MD, CEO of American Well.
The system will also connect with HealthVault, Microsoft’s online consumer health platform. This will allow consumers to maintain their personal health information in HealthVault and to share it with providers during the live encounter.
“The next stages of healthcare innovation must come from the ways in which we access and pay for care,” said Carolyn Pare, CEO of the Buyers Health Care Action Group. “Employers are looking for new models for care and payment, so I think there will be a great deal of interest in the ‘virtual clinic.’”