After shutting down their non-medical home care marketplace in February, senior care startup HomeHero is rebranding as an integrative medicine company called Harvey. The company’s name derives from English physician and scientist, William Harvey, who first discovered and explained how blood circulates through the human body.
The new company will focus on providing virtual consultations with functional and naturopathic doctors, in-home lab testing and natural therapies to help optimize your health and wellness. The startup has been quietly serving patients via 100% virtual consultants over the past five months.
Understanding Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine combines traditional healing, prevention and natural self-healing philosophies of Eastern medicine with advanced evidence-based research of Western medicine to treat the whole person, not just a set of isolated symptoms. For patients, Harvey’s doctors will focus on a holistic approach to medicine, instead of symptoms-based diagnostic approach and will diligently work to prevent more diseases in the future.
How it Works
Harvey will connect patients with an integrative doctor via phone where they can learn more about the patient’s health issues. After the phone call, Harvey will mail patients a custom lab kit and, if necessary, send a mobile phlebotomist to your home for a blood draw. Lab prices are comparable to the out-of-pocket co-pays and deductibles you would have to pay at other in-person clinics. Harvey has established partnerships with laboratories and testing centers to provide access to a broad inventory of specialized lab tests not available in most primary care clinics.
Patients can review their results and biomarkers with the doctor and begin to identify the root causes of your symptoms. The doctor will then provide a holistic treatment plan which may include diet, nutrition, supplements or lifestyle changes.
The price to connect with an integrated doctor is $150/hr. for a naturopathic doctor (ND) or $300/hr. for a functional MD or DO. Insurance is currently not accepted at this time; however patients may be able to use an HSA/FSA account to pay their services.
“If we are successful, we will completely change the “sick care” culture of healthcare in this country and shift the paradigm back towards nutrition, prevention and “whole body” health and wellness. We will help patients become better consumers of healthcare, reverse the disturbing proliferation of obesity and chronic disease in our country, and improve the quality of life of millions of people,” said CEO Kyle Hill, who announced the venture in a blog post.