SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carbon Health, the technology-enabled healthcare provider, has announced the launch of a specialty care program for patients who have tested positive for COVID-19: COVID Positive Care. Furthering Carbon Health’s mission to make world-class healthcare accessible to all, the first-of-its-kind program provides patients with the tools needed to understand and track their condition, manage symptoms and reduce missed opportunities for quality interventions, building a road to recovery. The company also announced the appointment of Dr. Aaron S. Weinberg as Director of Program Development for Carbon Health. A board-certified physician in internal, pulmonary, and critical care medicine, Dr. Weinberg developed the COVID Positive Care program upon joining the company.
At a time when fewer Americans have a primary care doctor than in years past, the COVID Positive Care program is designed to increase access to care and address the needs of the patient through their personal COVID-19 journey, offering a customized care plan including symptom management, ongoing monitoring, provider visits, and mental health screenings, in the 16 states Carbon Health is located.
“Having COVID-19 is stressful and scary to many patients, regardless of the severity of their symptoms. Adding to the anxiety, there often isn’t reliable follow-up with a provider after a positive diagnosis, unless a patient ends up in the hospital. We’ve designed this program to help address this need,” said Dr. Weinberg. “Nationally, it’s currently estimated that 14 percent of patients need hospitalization and 10 percent of people experience prolonged illness after COVID-19. By initiating an ongoing care program for those who have tested positive, we look to minimize hospitalizations and prolonged illness by catching signs of deterioration early.”
Once a patient tests positive, they can book a virtual visit either online or via the Carbon Health app and meet with a virtual provider who will create a customized care plan based on their individual symptoms. The program also features a COVID Positive Symptom Tracker, which allows Carbon Health providers to monitor for COVID-related short and long-term complications and ensure the patient’s recovery is progressing at an appropriate pace, as well as manage any complications.
“There is a tremendous care gap between a patient testing positive for COVID-19, and patients receiving meaningful care after diagnosis,” said Eren Bali, co-founder and CEO of Carbon Health. “At Carbon Health, we believe anyone who has tested positive deserves comprehensive care, monitoring, and education, all of which is covered in our new COVID Positive Care program. We are excited to have Dr. Weinberg, a recognized pulmonologist, onboard to help us develop this program and others like it as we continue our efforts to make world-class healthcare accessible to all.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Weinberg to the Carbon Health team as we further our mission to increase access to high-quality care by introducing specialty services into our omnichannel care,” said Sujal Mandavia, Chief Medical Officer of Carbon Health. “Starting with the COVID Positive Care program, Dr. Weinberg will be leading the charge of integrating specialty-based best practices to our care offerings, and driving research initiatives to evaluate new diagnostics and therapeutics to help bring innovations safely and efficiently to-market.”
Dr. Weinberg joins the company from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was the Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care, the Associate Director of Venous Thromboembolic Disease & Research, where he explored novel diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, and the Co-Director of Cedars-Sinai Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) Program. During his time at Cedars-Sinai, he also participated in COVID-19 research in the areas of novel therapies, and the use of artificial intelligence for early diagnosis and risk stratification of patients.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic Carbon Health has been at the forefront, facilitating testing for more than 350,000 patients to-date. The company acted quickly to increase access to care and testing, launching COVID-19 at-home tests, partnering with cities on public testing initiatives for essential workers and underserved communities, and continuing to bring pop-up testing clinics to areas across the country that need it most. The company also launched COVID Ready, a first-of-its-kind program helping businesses oversee a safe return to the workplace. Carbon Health has more than tripled its headcount to ensure they have the providers available to meet the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carbon Health launched in 2015 and has 18 primary and urgent care clinics in areas including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Reno, and it provides virtual care in 16 states covering two-thirds of the country. The company plans to open 100 pop-up clinics across 20 U.S. markets this winter.
To learn more about the COVID Positive Care program, visit carbonhealth.com/covid-positive-care.
About Carbon Health
Carbon Health is the technology-enabled healthcare provider designed from the ground up to put patient-care first. By combining technology with modern clinics, it delivers a uniquely seamless experience from virtual care to in-person care to meet patients where they are. Carbon Health removes the boundaries to high-quality, transparent and personal care and envisions making patient-centric, world-class care accessible and a reality for everyone. Carbon Health is headquartered in San Francisco with clinics across California and virtual care in 16 states across the U.S. To access Carbon Health, download the app (iTunes or Google Play) or visit carbonhealth.com.
