After a successful five-month telemedicine pilot, Tandigm Health, a value-based healthcare company supporting primary care physicians, today announced the launch of its cutting-edge telemedicine program collaboratively built with leading mobile health company TouchCare.
The partnership leverages TouchCare’s HIPAA-compliant mobile telemedicine platform as part of Tandigm’s ongoing mission to invest in the technology, tools, and resources that enable doctors to provide the finest patient care possible. The pilot program – along with the full rollout of TouchCare – is part of a comprehensive effort by Tandigm to lower costs and increase satisfaction of chronically ill patients by reducing admissions and readmissions to emergency departments.
The pilot phase focused on high-risk patients that were already engaging with Tandigm Care Teams. In addition, care managers at Gateway Medical Associates used the TouchCare platform to monitor chronically ill patients.
Susan Fleck, Director of Operations for Gateway Medical Associates, reports success. “Patients and providers find the video appointments easy, effective, and convenient. In just a few months we were able to eliminate or prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and visits to the emergency room.”
By the end of 2016, TouchCare will be available to all 380 Tandigm physicians, enabling them to connect securely with patients face-to-face by video from their mobile device. The new telemedicine program is one of the many ways Tandigm enables its doctors to actively improve access, engagement, and health management for their patients through telephonic and video support, proactive outreach, increased availability, and patient education.
“As the clinical lead for innovation, I get to think about problems that providers and patients face and try to find innovative solutions,” said Leslie Saltzman, DO, Medical Director at Tandigm. “We’re always looking to innovate around quality care delivery, and mobile telemedicine with TouchCare has proven to be the perfect fit. We’re excited to expand the program across all Tandigm practices.”
The ongoing close collaboration between Tandigm and TouchCare strives to continuously ensure the best quality patient engagement, user experience and clinical outcomes.
“Our collaboration with Tandigm Health is both innovative and rewarding,” said Damian Gilbert, founder and CEO of TouchCare. “Our shared vision for a connected community of care enables us to inform and improve process on both sides. We look forward to improving the overall telemedicine experience for both providers and patients, increasing access to care, improving outcomes even more and ultimately reducing costs.”
The TouchCare platform is an easy and affordable telemedicine option for all healthcare providers – from solo practitioners to large clinics or hospitals. The application is available with a simple download from the App Store or Google Play. As telemedicine continues to evolve from specialty use to a mainstream tool, the expansion of Tandigm’s TouchCare program serves to improve the health of patients by placing access to doctors and nurses at the fingertips of patients in need.
About Tandigm Health
Tandigm Health is dedicated to enhancing primary care physicians’ ability to provide the finest possible care while lowering costs through a more coordinated, proactive model. By providing greater tools and resources to its network of over 380 doctors, Tandigm puts primary care physicians back at the center of patient care. Tandigm Health is a 50-50 joint venture between Independence Blue Cross, the leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania, and DaVita HealthCare Partners, a leading independent medical group in America. To learn more about Tandigm’s approach to value-based healthcare, visit www.tandigmhealth.com.
About TouchCare
Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, TouchCare brings mobile health to mobile people, offering providers a way to remotely connect with their own patients through private face-to-face video calls via smart phones or tablets. The TouchCare platform officially launched in November 2014 and is already used by providers at some of America’s leading medical centers. For more information, visit: www.touchcare.com.