Teladoc Adds Drug Delivery, Lab Collection to Virtual Primary Care Service

Teladoc Health has added new capabilities to its primary care service, including in-network referrals, medication delivery, and at-home phlebotomy services.

Teladoc's Primary360 service offers virtual primary care to adults 18 and older. Members can select a primary care provider from Teladoc's roster of clinicians and get referrals to specialists and in-person care when needed. Members also have access to a team of registered nurses, medical assistants, and care coordinators.

The telemedicine provider has expanded Primary360's offerings. Physicians and the care team can now view a member's health plan eligibility and make referrals to internal Teladoc Health services and programs.

Further, Teladoc partnered with Capsule, a digital pharmacy, to provide free, same-day medication delivery, and Scarlet Health to offer in-home laboratory sample collection. With the latter, providers can place an order for a lab test, and Scarlet Health sends its professionals to collect the specimen at the patient's place of work or home. Test results are then shared with the provider and patient through an online portal.

"Commercial success along with consumer adoption, driven by new capabilities, solidifies Primary360 as the leading and trusted virtual-first healthcare offering," said Kelly Bliss, president, US Group Health at Teladoc Health, in the press release. "We also know that virtual care is a driver in reducing barriers to healthcare access, and we embrace the opportunity and the responsibility to further advance health equity with Primary360."

The addition of the new service offerings comes just a month after Teladoc Health was hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging it had misled investors about its business and prospects.

The suit, which was filed on behalf of all people and entities who purchased Teladoc securities between Oct. 28, 2021, and April 27, 2022, claims that the growth of the company's BetterHelp mental health and chronic care businesses was less sustainable than Teladoc had led investors to believe, and the company’s revenue and adjusted EBITDA projections for fiscal year 2022 were unrealistic.

Though Teladoc claims the suit has "no factual basis," the company significantly reduced its full-year guidance for 2022 revenue and adjusted EBITDA in its most recent earnings report released at the end of April.

Before this, however, Teladoc had entered into two high-profile partnerships — one with New York City-based Northwell Health and another with Amazon. The latter aimed to boost direct-to-consumer telehealth by providing voice-activated access to virtual care using Alexa-supported devices, including Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show.

Expanding services offered to Primary360 members is also in line with a growing interest in virtual primary care alongside research indicating its ability to close care gaps.

A recent study conducted by Penn Medicine showed that the number of primary care visits was similar between Black and non-Black patients in 2020, suggesting that virtual care can help eliminate race-based healthcare access disparities.

In May, CVS Health launched CVS Health Virtual Primary Care. The digital care platform will provide healthcare consumers with various services, including primary care, on-demand care, chronic condition management, and mental health services.

Further, Priority Health, a payer based in Michigan, plans to incorporate the Primary360 into its new virtual benefit design for fully funded commercial clients and members.