Digital health company Papa looks to provide virtual primary care for older adults living alone. Papa Health looks to connect seniors with qualified health care providers through insurance plans such as Aetna, Florida Blue Medicare, Humana, Priority Health, and Regence Blue Shield.
Papa was founded in 2016 to connect seniors with eligible helpers for tasks such as household chores, technology lessons, and transportation. Now, the company is looking to expand its services into virtual primary care, urgent care, and chronic care management. Since its official launch in 2018, the company has grown drastically, increasing membership by 500% over the years.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there is an increase in demand for virtual care among seniors. Founder and CEO of Papa, Andrew Parker states, “With companionship at our core, we have a unique opportunity to encourage and facilitate medical care into the home, where our members prefer to be for routine consultations and health care planning.”
Papa hopes to reach all 50 states by January of 2021. Recently the company raised $18 million in a Series B round and has received $31 million in venture capital from investors such as Comcast Ventures, Pivotal Ventures, Initialized Capital, Y Combinator, and South Ventures.
Parker discovered the need for virtual health service options during his time working at MDLive as vice president under his father. Now, Papa Health is part of Papa Pal and is offered through the company's technology, including an app that allows members to manage visits, and a platform that provides administrative tools.
The app’s services provide board-certified clinician teams, physicians, nurse practitioners, and specialists, known as Papa Docs. Papa Health connects patients with Papa Docs with the option to have Papa Pals assist in appointments and everyday lifestyle tasks. The Head of Papa Health, Joel Rabasco said, “Engaging in a healthy lifestyle is important to leading a long, fulfilling life and our Papa Pals represents the missing link in delivering high quality and effective health care to older adults.”
Papa Health looks to better health outcomes for seniors and their families. Due to COVID-19, social isolation and health risks have led to an increase in the need for virtual care, particularly for seniors with health risks such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease. This new service therefore aims to provide a safer care option for patients in isolated environments.
