WOONSOCKET – CVS Health Corp.’s MinuteClinic retail medical service is offering a new virtual health care video-chat mobile app for patients with minor illnesses and injuries, available in nine states so far, with Rhode Islanders likely getting access by the end of 2018.
The CVS Pharmacy app will allow anyone who downloads it to access MinuteClinic Video Visits – video chats with physicians from Teladoc Inc., using the virtual care company’s technology platform. Patients using the service will receive the same high-quality, evidence-based care they receive at traditional MinuteClinic locations inside select CVS Pharmacy and Target stores, the company noted in a statement. The function is labeled Virtual Care in the app.
The telemedicine service is designed to provide patients with access to health care services 24 hours a day, seven days a week from their mobile devices.
Video visits can be used to care for patients ages 2 years and older who are seeking treatment for a minor illness, minor injury or a skin condition. Each patient will complete a health questionnaire, then be matched to a board-certified doctor licensed in their state who will review the completed questionnaire with the patient’s medical history, then proceed with the video chat.
Each video-chat session with a doctor will cost $59, payable by credit card or debit card. Insurance coverage will be added in the coming months, according to a statement from the company. The service is currently available in nine states – Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Virginia – and the District of Columbia. It is expected to be available nationwide, where allowed, by the end of 2018.
Assuming nothing happens to alter Rhode Island telemedicine regulation, CVS Health expects to have the service operating in the state by late fall, said Amy Lanctot, spokesperson for CVS Health.
“Every state’s rules regarding this are very different,” Lanctot said, so it has to be launched one by one. The company is focusing on the states where the regulations are most conducive to a quick launch, she said.
You’ll have to be located in a state that offers the service to use it, Lanctot said. If you are a Rhode Islander who is on vacation in Florida, you can utilize it. But if you are a Florida resident who is visiting Rhode Island, you can’t use it when you are here. If you have a CVS Pharmacy app on your phone now, even in Rhode Island, you’ll see the service, Virtual Care, listed on the app.
“But when you click it, you have to select a state and only the states in which we offer the service are listed,” Lanctot said.
“As we continue to move the capabilities of virtual care forward, this is an exciting advancement,” said Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic. “CVS Health’s expansion of [its] health care model to include video visits brings even more care delivery options to patients and Teladoc is proud to work with them on this offering.”
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
