Sutter Health | Aetna, the joint venture health plan created by Aetna and Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health, has partnered with digital health startup Heal to offer members access to on-demand physician house calls.
Through the partnership, Sutter Health | Aetna members can use the Heal app or website or make a phone call to schedule medical appointments at their own homes and workplaces — giving physicians a better sense of the patients' social determinants of health — between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day. Access to the service will begin on Jan. 1.
"We are taking steps to modernize the delivery of healthcare by making it easier to access and more affordable," Steve Wigginton, Sutter Health | Aetna CEO, said in a Dec. 17 news release. "Heal's 'doctors to your door' service will increase convenience for members by enabling them to receive primary, preventive, pediatric and urgent care services from the convenience of their home or office. We want to deliver a differentiated member experience that leads to lower healthcare costs and better outcomes."
In recent months, Heal has also rolled out a data-driven telemedicine service, offering virtual follow-ups for returning patients with chronic conditions.
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