Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health is launching 24/7 virtual primary care in the hopes of increasing access to healthcare in its market.
HMH 24/7 will go live this fall via a partnership with digital health company K Health. The platform uses an artificial intelligence chatbot for intake and data entry before connecting the patient with a virtual provider.
"There is a significant population that does not have a primary care physician that they identify with," Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett told Becker's. "So we're always looking for ways to provide better access to primary care."
Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai started a similar platform with K Health last fall. In the first eight months, that health system experienced a 15% increase in primary care patients, according to K Health.
The virtual-only primary care providers are employed by (and accept the same insurance as) Hackensack Meridian Medical Group. Patients can keep the same clinician throughout their virtual treatment.
"From the healthcare consumer's perspective, when they see HMH 24/7, our brand is what they will be accessing," Mr. Garrett said. "It's not being branded under some other name. It's totally integrated into the Hackensack Meridian Medical Group, which I think was an important feature as to why we chose this K Health model."
It is another way Hackensack Meridian Health is partnering with a tech company to expand primary care. The health system is also collaborating with Amazon's One Medical to open primary care offices in New Jersey.
Mr. Garrett said K Health's success with other health systems made it attractive and allowed Hackensack Meridian Health to not have to spend the time and resources to develop its own platform.
"At the end of the day, we felt that sometimes it is good to build your own, but other times, why reinvent the wheel if the product is so superior and it fits into our mission," he said. "In terms of digital health transformation, we're certainly open to these kinds of partnerships."
The app also has a Spanish-language version, an important factor in a market where around a quarter of the population speaks Spanish.
Mr. Garrett said the return on investment comes from attracting and retaining patients who will hopefully stick with the health system.
"The ROI really comes through that continuity of care," he said. "The key for any health system to grow is through a primary care network. And then, of course, if those patients require any other services, any other specialty care, we would hope they would stay within the Hackensack Meridian Health network, like any other patient who would access our medical group."