Chicago-based Rush University System for Health is teaming up with Amazon One Medical to boost access to its virtual — and in-person — specialty care.
The three-hospital system started working with the tech giant’s hybrid primary care company Jan. 1, and has already gotten more than 20 specialty care referrals from One Medical patients in the Chicago market (all for in-person visits).
“Every patient doesn’t look the same or want to access care the same way,” Kate Jones, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Rush University System for Health, told Becker’s. “So we view this as augmenting our strategy.”
That strategy also included Rush Connect, which is one of the most robust virtual care platforms in the nation, offering eight specialties and counting. The health system also launched a subscription-based service in July (in partnership with Fabric), where patients anywhere in the country can get access to 24/7 telehealth and a personal care navigator for $19 a month. Only a handful of health systems have comparable offerings, including Milwaukee-based Froedtert Health and Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag.
Amazon One Medical itself has a similar model, with a subscription plan that gives members access to around-the-clock, on-demand virtual care.
“This space is consistently challenging all of us to step up our game,” Ms. Jones said. “We’re not a traditional brick-and-mortar industry anymore.”
Rush is also One Medical’s first collaborator to incorporate the Amazon providers into the health system’s own clinically integrated network, Ms. Jones said. “Yes, we’ve got more access, but we also were partnering really closely on the quality of care delivered,” she said.
Rush declined to disclose the deal’s financial terms, but in some markets, health systems share in revenue from the clinics. The arrangements also give health systems access to One Medical’s large number of members (about 60%) who receive the subscription as an employment benefit.
“This keeps us innovative and meeting patients where they’re seeking or choosing to receive care,” Ms. Jones said. “We look forward to really continuing to see what the relationship can bring and grow and be innovative together.”
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