Teladoc is further building out its primary care offering, Primary360, with new services that enhance care coordination and grow in-home options.
Primary360 will now provide care coordination support and health plan in-network referrals alongside free same-day medication delivery from Capsule and in-home, on-demand phlebotomy services backed by Scarlet Health, according to an announcement Wednesday from Teladoc.
The new care coordination capabilities will allow Primary360's care team to take a "holistic" view of the patient's coverage and make streamlined referrals to Teladoc services they can access. The care team can also then ensure a patient is referred to an in-network provider when in-person services are necessary.
“We are seeing exciting momentum with Primary360,” said Kelly Bliss, president of the U.S. Group Health at Teladoc Health, in a statement. “Commercial success along with consumer adoption, driven by new capabilities, solidifies Primary360 as the leading and trusted virtual-first healthcare offering."
"We also know that virtual care is a driver in reducing barriers to healthcare access, and we embrace the opportunity and the responsibility to further advance health equity with Primary360," Bliss said.
Data suggest that about half of consumers fail to pick up their prescriptions, Teladoc said. By teaming with Capsule, the telehealth giant said it will make be able to address a key access barrier to prescription drugs, ensuring they get and stay on their medications.
Similarly, in-home lab draws offer both convenience and an option for people who may face transportation challenges, Teladoc said. During an initial trial with Scarlet, lab order completion rates increased by 22.5%.
In addition, Teladoc said that Priority Health, a nonprofit health system with about 1 million members in Michigan, has signed on with Primary360. The insurer will incorporate Primary360's services into its suite of telehealth, mental health and chronic condition supports and will launch a new virutal-first plan design.
2022 has been a rough year financially for Teladoc, as the comedown from pandemic highs in utilization hits publicly traded health tech companies across the country. The telehealth giant's stock has fallen more than 63% this year.
But CEO Jason Gorevic told Fierce Healthcare in a recent interview with Heather Landi that as the company has been in the virtual care game long before COVID-19, it's poised to bounce back.