Pittsburgh-based UPMC Health Plan launched its UPMC AnywhereCare app, which connects patients with 24/7 access to virtual healthcare.
UPMC AnywhereCare enables patients with access to a smartphone, tablet or personal computer to video conference with emergency room professionals. Patients can use this service for nonemergency symptoms such as sore throat, upper respiratory illness or seasonal allergies.
The typical AnywhereCare appointment wait time is roughly six and a half minutes. The cost for an AnywhereCare visit is between $10 and $49, dependent on insurance coverage. Prescriptions, which can be sent to a patient's pharmacy following a remote visit, are paid separately.
"AnywhereCare visits are low cost, typically about half the cost of a healthcare plan copay, and they allow patients within Pennsylvania to be cared for by UPMC clinicians in their homes, at work or on the road," said Kim Jacobs, vice president of consumer innovation at UPMC Health Plan.