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Telemedicine is here to stay and it will grow. I'm also wondering how much demand is coming from the weekend recreational meds (Viagra, etc), which is a huge market itself. That can definitely drive more demand for telemed.

William Lee
Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP)
Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 17, 2014, at 7:59 AM, Hunter Biden <hbiden@rosemontseneca.com> wrote:
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> RHB
> 202.333.1880
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> Begin forwarded message:
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>> From: refertofriend@bizjournals.com
>> Date: March 17, 2014 at 10:12:05 AM EDT
>> To: rhb@rspdc.com
>> Subject: perowan@gmail.com sent you an article from Boston Business Journal
>> Reply-To: perowan@gmail.com
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>> If you are having trouble viewing this email, click here
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>> This article was sent to you by perowan@gmail.com:
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>> Sender's comment: FYI
>> American Well rides ObamaCare telehealth wave
>> Published: March 14, 2014
>>
>> Boston-based telehealth company American Well has doubled its number of health insurer and hospital partners over the past year, and has gained 100,000 users of a new mobile app in its first three months on the market. The company added about 35 workers in the past year, for total headcount of 150, with most employees based in the company’s Financial District headquarters.
>>
>> The company, which launched in 2007, started out as a technology provider giving health plans, doctors’ groups and hospitals the ability to allow their patients and doctors to connect remotely through video screens. Over the past two years, the company has evolved to provide a turnkey telehealth product for some clients, by building its own doctors’ network including 50 doctors on staff, and another 1300 nationwide who are available on a per-call basis. Now the company has a direct-to-consumer play with its newly-launched iPhone and Android apps.
>>
>> “We never anticipated how dramatic the uptake would be, but it seems that health care protection as an asset on your phone seems to resonate,” CEO Roy Schoenberg said. “There’s a common sense element, if you are hit by a car or you have chest pain, you are not going to go and download an app, but for things like rashes, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, migraines, it makes sense.”
>>
>> Schoenberg said he’d like to say the company’s growth is because of its superior technology. In reality, he said, he has the federal health reform law to thank, especially for the quick uptake of the consumer app.
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>> “It’s a byproduct of the 2014 implementation of the ACA - it’s hard to find a PCP and many patients have high-deductible plans,” Schoenberg said. He said that with more skin in the game, patients are becoming more proactive about their health.
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>> The price per telehealth visit is $49, versus potentially at least twice that much for an in-person doctor’s visit, if paid out of pocket. Under ObamaCare, preventive care “well visits” are free and not subject to deductibles. But for patients with chronic health conditions, visits to tackle a “problem” would be subject to deductibles, which for the typical Bronze (lowest-premium) health plan in Massachusetts, are typically $2,000 per individual or $4,000 for a family. And Schoenberg says it's this group that is increasingly accessing telehealth.
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>> “Increasingly we are seeing people who are not looking for a diagnosis, but more to better manage a chronic condition like diabetes, get continuing care, and come up with the next steps,” he said.
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>> The company’s technology abides by health care privacy laws, uses financial institution-level security encryption and has a mechanism to automatically cover each doctor with medical malpractice insurance. Schoenberg said the company has never been hit by a medical malpractice lawsuit, in part because the company is careful to lay out the limitations of the service.
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>> American Well’s clients include insurers UnitedHealth Group, Wellpoint and several Blue Cross plans. Schoenberg declined to disclose revenue for the company, which is privately-held.
>>
>> View full article
>>
>> © 2014 American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
>> =2