While telehealth and virtual care exploded during COVID, when they were the only option for people to see their doctor, very few, if anybody, expected it to stay the primary way people got care once the pandemic ended: the fact is that most people prefer seeing their doctor in-person.
Plus, frankly, there are some things that you need to do in an actual care setting, such as vaccination, imaging test, pap smear, and electrocardiograms. So, while someone might start off with a virtual care visit, it may then escalate to an in-person visit; when that happens, it’s up to the patient to figure out what to do next.
Included Health, a company that integrates virtual care and navigation, wants to help its members navigate from that virtual care visit to an in-person setting, so it has announced a partnership with Solv, a company with a national network of in-person urgent care providers.
This integration will expand the Included Health member experience to include same-day, in-person medical visits. By partnering with Solv, Included Health’s care team will be able to schedule urgent care visits, or facilitate the next step of a virtual primary care appointment for its members.
Founded in 2016, Solv doesn’t run its own clinics, but it helps patients find immediate care locally, including urgent care centers. It also shows the cost of each service, including if they’ve met their deductible, and what insurance will or will not cover, while also allowing them to get seen in nearby clinics same day.
The company notes that, currently, 150 million Americans live within five miles of a Solv provider.
Included Health, meanwhile, is the result of a merger between healthcare quality and navigation company Grand Rounds Health, and virtual care provider Doctor On Demand, followed by the acquisition of Included Health, a health platform for the LGBTQ+ community, the same month.
The company offer its members care guidance, advocacy, and access to personalized virtual and in-person care for urgent care, primary care, behavioral health, and specialty care.
In order to help bridge the gap from online navigation and virtual care to in-person care, Solv announced the launch of Solv Final Mile Network, which uses Solv’s APIs and tools to link virtual and online care to in-person care with real time appointment availability and EHR interoperability.
Solv Final Mile connects local, in-person care to national healthcare players, so they can deliver care seamlessly across the web and mobile properties. Included Health will be a Solv Final Mile partner at launch.
“Like so much in our lives today, healthcare needs to happen everywhere, easily. Our members want to get most of their care virtually and connecting what happens online to a network of clinical experts and local services is critical. It’s how we’ll open up hybrid care to be integrated in practice not theory,” Included Health CEO Owen Tripp said in a statement.
“Healthcare needs to remove barriers to access and overcome all those moments of confusion, complexity and disconnection. We’re excited to lead here, with this collaboration with Solv and more to come.”
(Image source: includedhealth.com)
