ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – A Denver-area health care provider is teaming up with another local company to allow its patients to text and video chat directly with their doctor.
Englewood-based PeakMed recently announced a partnership with telehealth provider CirrusMD, based in Denver.
PeakMed is a primary care provider that does away with health insurance. Instead of paying a premium to an insurance company, members pay PeakMed a monthly fee for coverage. There are no copays or deductibles and members can visit their doctor at a PeakMed clinic – known as a “LifeCenter” – as often as they wish.
In November, PeakMed also launched a mobile LifeCenter, which the company uses to bring the doctor’s office right to patients at their place of work.
With the addition of CirrusMD’s telehealth platform, PeakMed is making it even easier to see your doctor without ever having to set foot in a clinic.
CirrusMD’s telehealth technology lets patients use an app on their smartphone or computer to send a message directly to their doctor, who can respond right away. If a text conversation doesn’t cut it, video chat is also available.
PeakMed Founder Dr. Mark Tomasulo said the platform could ultimately be used to handle a majority of patients’ non-emergency concerns.
“Think of how often you utilize Google or WebMD because you don’t want to incur a medical expense,” Tomasulo said. “How cool would it be to utilize innovation and technology to communicate that question directly to your doctor?”
“Patients are demanding access to care,” said CirrusMD CEO Andrew Altorfer. “By meeting patients where they are, with a familiar text messaging experience, CirrusMD and PeakMed will be able to treat patients virtually and guide them to the most appropriate point-of-care for their situation, saving both time and money.”
PeakMed has been testing the system with a handful of users for a few months and plans to roll it out to the rest of its members throughout the month of January.