30 Mar 2017
Doctor Care Anywhere partners with Aetna International to make its virtual doctor service available 24 hours a day to international patients.
Doctor Care Anywhere, the doctor-founded digital healthcare company, has partnered with Aetna International, one of the world’s largest health benefits businesses.
Together, they are working towards making a virtual doctor service available to Aetna’s extensive book of leading corporate clients.
Following the success of an on-going pilot programme, which was launched last year, the service is now live with several thousand members and the aim is to further expand its services to more members around the world.
The partnership provides Aetna International members, whilst they are outside of the USA, with the ability to speak to a UK-licensed and trained general practitioner, wherever they are in the world.
Doctors can prescribe, treat, refer to a specialist and advise on every day medical concerns, reducing the need for patients to travel to a hospital or clinic, which may not have English speaking doctors and are costly for everyday ailments.
As part of the pilot, Doctor Care Anywhere made consultations with UK-licensed and trained doctors available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The service is available via the Doctor Care Anywhere platform on web, or through a white-labelled “Doctor Care Anywhere provided by Aetna” app – available on iOS and Android, which was built specifically for Aetna International’s members.
In addition to convenient access to doctors, patients have access to Doctor Care Anywhere’s Global Prescription Management Service, which enables them to either collect their prescription from a local pharmacy or receive it via a signed-for delivery service, subject to local regulations.
Members also have access to the Doctor Care Anywhere Health Tracking app to allow them to track their individual symptoms, conditions and lifestyle factors to aid consultations with the doctor.
As part of the pilot launched in November 2016, Doctor Care Anywhere continues to provide its services to NGO personnel located around the world, including those working in extremely remote locations, where different languages and unfamiliar healthcare systems can act as barriers to accessing health care. Patients were able to speak to highly experienced UK-licensed doctors via a secure video or over the phone at times convenient to them.
This partnership highlights the appeal of the virtual healthcare service that Doctor Care Anywhere provides to global insurers such as Aetna International and reinforces Aetna International’s commitment to provide innovative, high-quality and accessible health coverage globally. Aetna International and Doctor Care Anywhere are now looking for ways to further expand the partnership around the world.
Dr Sneh Khemka, Senior Vice President of Population Health Solutions at Aetna International, commented: “We have been impressed with the Doctor Care Anywhere service, especially the level of medical care the doctors provide. Users have rated the service highly and it has been beneficial to people around the world, where they often don’t have access to primary care. At Aetna International, we are focused on developing innovative solutions, which add value to our members’ health and lifestyle. This partnership has allowed us to offer a great solution to our members, quickly and effectively. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Doctor Care Anywhere to provide the service to even more users around the world.”
Kate Newhouse, CEO of Doctor Care Anywhere, commented: “We are very excited to be working with Aetna International and look forward to growing and enhancing our relationship. While living abroad, it can often be difficult to access primary care when patients need it most, particularly given the language barrier and unfamiliar set up. Offering a flexible, convenient way to speak to a doctor and the tools needed to manage individual healthcare needs gives patients the security of knowing that world-class primary healthcare expertise is always just a click away.”