There has been a clear reluctance in the last year for many to go to the hospital. Between the overworked staff and obvious safety precautions involved with an in-clinic visit, many are electing to seek alternative methods for managing their health. While telehealth is a great option for many, sometimes an individual may still require in-person care. This is where DispatchHealth, a Denver-based home healthcare service, comes in. DispatchHealth’s innovative platform brings healthcare services directly to the safety of anyone’s home, offering an appealing alternative to both brick-and-mortar practices and telehealth visits.
The convenient platform is offered via mobile app, phone, or the DispatchHealth website, and links patients to care providers for a number of virtual services, as well as to set up in-home appointments with medical professionals. The service can also function as an urgent care solution, dispatching the needed people and resources directly to the homes of people experiencing medical emergencies, and offsetting a potentially long, expensive, and overburdened trip to the emergency room.
As a testament to the success of the company’s offerings, DispatchHealth recently raised $200 million in a Series D round of funding, and now aims to expand its features even further. It has recently teamed up with Humana, which has agreed to start including DispatchHealth as a regular addition to their listed coverage and features.
The most unique thing about the DispatchHealth platform is its integration of telehealth with in-person interaction. This eliminates not only the unnecessary risk for a patient avoiding a hospital visit, but also the potential lack of full services or personalized care that may come from a completely virtual doctor’s visit. The hope is that these services can take pressure off health systems, without undercutting the quality of care for those in need of medical attention. This also opens up the potential for less expensive care, as the company is able to supplement potential expenses with efficiency and versatility not typical of a regular hospital environment.
DispatchHealth has its sights on the long-term recruitment of patients in a post-pandemic era. On top of expanding its ever-growing relationship with payers, health systems, and emergency medical services, the company will be further growing the outreach of their provided services. Along with regular medical visits and urgent care, services like physical and respiratory therapy, pharmacy and meal deliveries, and medical equipment use are now accessible in a mobile environment.
With the capabilities and expansion potential to handle both simple and complex injuries and illnesses with ease, DispatchHealth is a welcomed revolution in the age of automated health and telecare. The platform’s services are available 24/7, 365 days a year, and are now covered by many insurance plans.
