Live Healthcare is Just a Click Away
While technology innovations in healthcare have typically been focused on efficiency improvements for care providers—such as Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), online appointment scheduling, and bill payment systems—at Anthem, it also includes enabling consumers to access care in a way that works best for them, emphasizing accessibility in an on-demand, app-driven climate, through innovations like LiveHealth Online, a video healthcare service.
Charlene Henshaw, who teaches coding to young students at Carrollton Elementary School in Virginia—and therefore is well versed in the value of technology—has experienced the benefits of video healthcare visits. "Being a teacher," she says, "my hours are not really conducive to getting doctor's appointments." It was the end of the summer and she was in class busy preparing for the start of school when she began to feel sick. "I tried to get a doctor appointment but that didn't work. Since it wasn't an emergency, I thought, 'Oh well, I'll just let it go.'" Charlene's husband encouraged her to try LiveHealth Online instead. "It's so hard to take time off. You have to take a half or a whole day to go to the doctor. But you can do LiveHealth Online on your 30-minute lunch break if you needed to. I tell everybody I know about it and I would do it again and again."
LiveHealth Online allows consumers to connect via video with healthcare professionals who can provide immediate diagnosis and treatment of acute but non-urgent medical conditions. The visit cost is often less than an office visit and is available 24/7. In addition to primary care physicians, LiveHealth Online also offers access to some specialty care providers. For instance, consumers can schedule visits with licensed therapists, psychologists and board-certified psychiatrists to discuss behavioral health conditions such as anxiety, depression, stress, relationships or family issues.
In 2017, Anthem also expanded LiveHealth Online services to provide postpartum care for moms via online visits with a lactation consultant, counselor or registered dietitian. These professionals offer guidance on nursing positions, low milk production, formula feeding, proper nutrition when breastfeeding and introducing solids.
LiveHealth Online also launched the first telehealth platform to a full Spanish Language service, called Cuidado Médico in 2017. With more than 41 million native Spanish speakers and an additional 11.6 million bilingual consumers in the United States, Cuidado Médico is helping to reduce the language disparity for this often-underserved community while at the same time, increasing their access to care.
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