LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Heal, the leader in doctor house calls, today introduces Heal Telemedicine™ for returning Heal users, providing complete and connected care between patients with chronic conditions and their doctors. Combined with the powerful Heal Hub™, initially introduced as the award-winning Heal Wellbe, for the first-time ever, telemedicine is being delivered by a doctor who truly knows their patient through the context of their complete health history, home environment, and real-time vitals.
According to a recent Harvard study, the home environment was labeled the best indicator for measuring Social Determinants of Health. This includes, actual medication bottles, fall risks, allergens and food insecurities, which can only be assessed by doctors in the patient’s home environment. The study concluded these factors determine up to 80% of health outcomes. With today’s launch, Heal will offer telemedicine as a continuity of the unique in-home patient-doctor relationship – so the doctor who talks with you by phone or video is the same doctor who has been to your house and knows your personal social determinants of health. This kind of telemedicine extends the human touch for unprecedented accuracy, quality, and timeliness of care.
In addition to the social determinants of Health, Heal doctors have unique access to prior health records through its integration with the Apple Health Kit, combined with gathering vital signs in real-time with the Heal Hub. With the Hub, Heal doctors have access to patient vital signs in real-time, including blood pressure, blood sugar, heart rate, and other factors that are the best indicators of a patient’s health status. By combining in-home context with prior health records and real time vitals, Heal telemedicine enables always-on delivery of precise, personal, and data-driven care.
“Typical telemedicine is plagued by low uptake, under diagnoses, and over-prescription,” said Nick Desai, chief executive officer and co-founder at Heal. “There’s a huge difference between an awkward encounter with a random provider and talking to your own doctor – with whom you have a relationship and understands the context of your real-time health data. The latter is what we’re providing today.”
To date, Heal has delivered 110,000 house calls across the U.S. in less than four years, driving more than $68 million in healthcare cost savings and reducing unnecessary trips to the emergency room and urgent care by 71%. Heal’s house call service is now enhanced with the addition of Heal Telemedicine, which is only available to repeat users. Combined with the Heal Hub, which allows near real-time, 24/7 integration of diagnostic health data with real, live doctors, provides data-driven, point-of-care decision support for doctors and more personalized medicine for patients.
“Heal continues to strengthen the patient/doctor relationship, proving that great technology can be used to bring them closer together, and not further apart,” said Dr. Renee Dua, co-founder and chief medical officer at Heal. “The combination of house calls with Heal Telemedicine and Heal Hub is the ultimate care solution for patients with chronic conditions, especially elderly patients, who should always feel connected to their doctors. This furthers our mission to make care more proactive, so patients spend more time being well and less time getting well.”
ABOUT HEAL:
Heal is bringing technology innovation to re-humanize the practice of medicine in a way that is fulfilling for doctors and patients alike. We believe in making healthcare a more personal and convenient experience by creating a more efficient doctor's office in your home, that inevitably improves healthcare outcomes. Through the touch of an app or a click on our site, a highly-vetted, qualified medical doctor will arrive at your door, twelve hours a day, 365 days a year.
Heal is in-network with all major PPO insurance companies in California, as well as Medicare, and will soon be in-network with insurers across the country. Heal investors include Fidelity ContraFund, Jim Breyer, the Ellison Family, Lionel Richie, and others. For more information, please visit http://www.heal.com/. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
