Tele-health plans virtual house calls

By Sheilah Downey

Calling it "the house call of the 21st century," Stephen Hemsley, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group announced today the company's first national tele-health network, a kind of virtual doctor visit.

Partnering with technology giant Cisco, the new "Connected Care" program will give patients access to doctors and when personal visits aren't possible, said a UnitedHealth press release.

"The combination of Cisco's technology and our national health care resources will make it easier for people to receive care where distance has been an obstacle," said Hemsley.

The "telemedicine technology" for the network will employ video, audio and medical information "to create an experience remarkably similar to an in-person visit with the doctor," according to UnitedHealth.
 

A pilot program of the "Connected Care" system was launched in San Jose, Calif., over a recent seven month period, said the company, with a 90 percent recommendation rating from participants. Similar pilots included Aberdeen, Scotland and New Zealand.

The program is intended to reach rural, urban and other underserved areas of the country to overcome the healthcare disparities in rural areas. It will include the company's national provider network of 590,000 doctors and more than 4,900 hospitals.

The health group said they will be working with Project HOPE, an international health assistance organization, in one of the program's first implementations. A mobile health care unit is to be set up in New Mexico to focus on addressing diabetes and other chronic diseases, said the company.

"The United States is renowned for the latest advances in health technology and care, but not all Americans have access to them," said Project HOPE's Dr. John Howe III. "This unique partnership will help improve access to care through initiatives like this."