West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health will offer telehealth services to its 32,000 employees next year, with plans to later expand the services to patients, according to a NJ Biz report.
The health system plans on using the launch of telehealth services for employees as a way to enter the market. At the NJ Business and Industry Association’s Healthcare IT Summit Nov. 1, Leslie Stanaback, the health system's vice president of systems and support physicians services, said the services will be offered through the health system's behavioral health group.
"We're going to start with our own employees – 32,000 of them – who will access providers online, hopefully from their offices or wherever they are," Ms. Stanaback said, according to the report.
In New Jersey, the use of telemedicine has been limited. However, in the summer Gov. Chris Christie, R, signed into law a telemedicine bill, noting it was "a legitimate form of medical treatment that can be covered by health insurers," NJ Biz reports.