i3 - May/June 2020 - 7

Tech

How does Doctor On Demand
work? How does a typical teleconsultation go?

A Doctor On Demand connects patients to
licensed health care providers for "virtual visits" in all 50 states,
24/7. Our urgent care and behavioral health services are available
to patients through health plans, employers and directly to consumers. Patients simply access Doctor On Demand through our
app or website. We also offer a fully integrated health care platform called Synapse which allows health plans and employers to
deliver comprehensive virtual primary care to their populations.
At Doctor On Demand, our video-first approach to care puts
patients face-to-face with a doctor within minutes. A video visit
is really similar to an in-person experience. The doctor will review
patient history, assess their symptoms, provide a treatment plan
and when needed, write prescriptions. Since the doctor can see
the patient, they're able to deliver the highest clinical quality
while also developing a trusted doctor-patient relationship.
We find that patients enjoy the convenience and quality of
their first visit and will often opt to use virtual care again.

Q How is telemedicine being used in the

context of COVID-19? How much has your
workload increased?
A The COVID-19 outbreak is driving much
more broad-scale awareness for the
benefits of virtual care. This is the first time
we've seen telemedicine recommended as
a first line of care by government officials,
including the President of the United States,
the CDC, HHS, health plans and employers.
This recommendation was made to help
slow the spread of COVID-19 nationwide,
and we have been proud to serve this public
health role while lessening the burden on
the health care system.
Our team mobilized quickly and coordinated closely with the CDC to help with
preparation, surveillance, triage and treatment of patients with suspected COVID-19.
What we ended up seeing was an increase in
visits from patients with not only coronavirus concerns, but those with acute and
chronic conditions who opted to seek care
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access to quality health care - from high
costs to being unable to take time off from
work to not wanting to wait at a doctor's
office with other sick people. Doctor On
Demand helps break down financial and
geographical barriers to improve access to
care. No matter where a patient is located in
the U.S. or what time of day it is, they're able
to connect with a provider. Similarly, doctors
can extend the reach of their care beyond
their immediate area to help more patients.
One gap in the health care system that we
have been laser focused on bridging virtually is primary care. Studies have found that
access to primary care improves patient
health outcomes and reduces costs to both
the patient and the health care system (it is
estimated that the health care system would
save $67 billion a year if everyone saw a PCP
for care first). Yet, nearly 30% of American
adults don't have a primary care physician
and it takes an average
of 24 days to schedule
a new patient appointment in 15 of the
largest cities. We have
developed a platform
and model to deliver
comprehensive virtual
primary care, with
integrated behavioral
health, to reach this
population.
We will continue
to see innovative
virtual care solutions
that bridge the gap
between patients and doctors. Moreover,
I believe we'll see solutions that have
comprehensive offerings and will be more
deeply embedded in the health care system.

We will continue to
see innovative
virtual care
solutions that
bridge the gap
between patients
and doctors.

at home to prevent
potential exposure to
illness at an in-person
visit. In March, we saw
110% more demand
than we had seen the month prior when the
outbreak had just begun. We also saw an
uptick in our behavioral health services as
many patients looked for at-home options
for mental health concerns. In response to
the rapid increases in demand, we brought
on hundreds of additional licensed physicians, psychologists and psychiatrists to
provide care. We also continued to make
platform enhancements to ensure the best
possible patient experience for the thousands of Americans who turn to virtual care
each day.

Q How does telemedicine bridge the gap

between patients, doctors and hospitals
using virtual channels?
A There are many factors that inhibit patient

Q What are the limitations of telemedicine?
A While people are often surprised by the

versatility of telemedicine to triage and treat
many concerns, there are still physical (i.e.
suturing, resetting bones) and regulatory limitations to what a telemedicine provider can
deliver. At Doctor On Demand, we believe
in a video-based care model so that doctors
can treat patients based on visual cues as
well as the concerns the patient is voicing.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, we have
seen many telemedicine regulation changes
which validate the quality and effectiveness
MAY/JUNE 2020

5/7/20 2:04 PM

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i3 - May/June 2020

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