BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LSU, the state’s flagship university, and K Health, a virtual primary care service, today announced a partnership that will provide free access to doctors via telemedicine for all Louisiana residents throughout the month of April. This partnership is the first of its kind to provide free care on a state level for millions of residents to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about public health in Louisiana and up-to-date resources, click here.
Residents with smartphones can text with board-certified doctors to discuss their symptoms and receive care from home. As many state residents struggle to find access to doctors, this partnership will enable people worried about COVID-19 symptoms to connect with doctors who can recommend testing, treatments, and the most appropriate course of action.
Dr. Rebekah Gee, CEO of LSU Health Care Services Division says, “In this time of uncertainty, LSU is here for you. Many symptoms of COVID can be treated at home—and that is the best place to stay if possible. LSU and K Health are proud to offer free services to the public and access to a physician during this critical time.”
Given the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across Louisiana and the urgent need to reduce pressure on health systems, this partnership will let more doctors reach more patients through virtual text chats, and when the doctor recommends it, video and phone chats. Most COVID-19 cases can be treated remotely, and the effort is designed to decrease 911 calls and traffic to local emergency rooms.
LSU deeply understands the healthcare needs of its citizens, and as part of the community, is focused on supporting people right now. Partnering with K Health brings some relief to the community via telemedicine to help the growing numbers of people deeply affected by COVID-19.
“We stand with Louisiana during this pandemic, and we have tremendous respect for LSU, their doctors, and the local medical community that’s tirelessly working to keep people safe and healthy,” said Allon Bloch, co-founder and CEO of K Health. “At a time where Louisianans are being hit particularly hard, we want to do our part by giving free access to our technology that connects people to doctors, throughout the month of April and hopefully beyond. In partnership with LSU, our goal is to see people getting treatment while also preserving the emergency rooms for the most critical patients.”
The initiative encourages Louisiana residents with all non-critical medical concerns to first speak to their primary care physician. If the patient doesn’t have a primary care physician or can’t reach them, download the K Health app for free in the App Store and Google Play to speak to a doctor before calling 911 or going to a local emergency room. First-time users will be asked to complete a profile with their medical history. After the request is received by a physician, the user will receive a text notification that a doctor will be available to chat within minutes.
More information about the partnership is available at: https://lsu.khealth.ai/
To follow announcements concerning LSUHN facilities and Healthcare Network news, visit https://www.lsuhn.com/covid-19-updates/ .
About K Health
K Health is a digital health company that offers free personalized healthcare. K is trained to ask smart questions about symptoms and to account for medical history, age, gender, and other biomarkers as it investigates each user’s health. Users can then chat with a doctor for fast, personalized care. K has millions of users and is frequently the #1 downloaded app in the App Store’s medical category. The company is headquartered in New York City.
About LSU
As the flagship institution of the state, the vision of Louisiana State University is to be a leading research-extensive university, challenging undergraduate and graduate students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development. Designated as a Land, Sea, and Space Grant institution, the mission of Louisiana State University is the generation, preservation, dissemination, and application of knowledge and cultivation of the arts.