Telehealth services provider American Well, today announced it is the telemedicine partner of choice for 29 Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in more than half of the United States. Beginning 1/1/16, 29 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans rely on American Well to deliver care to members across 26 states. Through its app, Amwell health plans can give members a benefit they want, while reducing medical costs for key employer accounts.
“Modern technology like web and mobile lets us bring healthcare to you, instead of making you wait for it,” said Dr. Roy Schoenberg, CEO, American Well in an official statement. “It made perfect sense to partner with the Blues, who have been long-standing leaders in bringing healthcare to consumers, to deliver online care to their networks. The ability to see a doctor instantly, from your home or smartphone, is now reality for millions of people who have trusted their healthcare to the Blues. We are honored to do our part in making high-quality medical care much more accessible and significantly less painful.”
Enhancing Healthcare Access to Patients via Telehealth
Health plans often cite cost, access and customer satisfaction as key factors for their entry into telemedicine. Increasingly health plans are adopting telemedicine as a way to expand or bring new services to their members to cover the full care continuum – including disease-management programs tailored to specific conditions, behavioral health services, and wellness and nutrition services.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts is one of 29 Blue plans in the American Well network; the plan has a two year pilot program underway in which it is providing American Well telehealth services to select physician practices in its network. Through the program, patients can engage in a video visit with their clinician or physician as a convenient alternative to a traditional doctor visit. A team of dedicated Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts clinicians are also using the American Well platform to connect with members across its care management programs.
Amwell is the #1 most downloaded telehealth app and averages a 4.8 out of 5 Star rating by consumers. American Well serves the nation’s top health systems and health plans, more than 600 major employers and more than 25 million covered consumers.
