Hydrogen Health to Expand Virtual Primary Care Model

Hydrogen Health is extending its virtual primary care model to self-insured employers and insurers, including several Fortune 500 employers and regional health plans.

The company, a joint venture formed by investment firm Blackstone, healthcare payer Anthem, and digital health company K Health in April, operates a virtual primary care model. Previously, it was only available to Anthem's fully insured businesses.

Hydrogen Health offers its artificial intelligence-driven flagship product K Health, access to its roster of more than 350 clinicians, and 24/7 digital remote care services with the aim of closing the primary gap.

"We want to fundamentally change ongoing clinical management and make navigating care seamless," said Allon Bloch, co-founder and CEO of Hydrogen Health and K Health, in an email.

Patients participating in the virtual model will have access to text-based chats or video visits with clinicians to treat a range of urgent, chronic and pediatric conditions, he added. These include treatment for a range of physical and mental conditions, from urinary tract infections to anxiety. The K Health platform uses AI to provide information about patient symptoms and support clinical decision making.

If a patient requires specialty care, they are provided with a referral by K Health clinicians.

"More consumers, including those with complex cases that are traditionally difficult to treat and manage remotely, are now able to get effective care with less worrying about costs or scheduling inconvenience," said Morgan Kendrick, executive vice president and president of Anthem's Commercial Business, in the news release. "Hydrogen Health can offer people 360-degree support with dietary regimens and lab orders, for example, right from their mobile devices — improving outcomes and helping prevent the need for emergency intervention."

Telehealth use, especially for primary care, skyrocketed amid early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Office-based primary care visits decreased 50.2 percent in the second quarter of 2020 as compared with the same period in 2018 and 2019, while telemedicine visits increased from 1.1 percent of total visits in Q2 of 2018 and 2019, to 35.3 percent in Q2 of 2020, a study published in JAMA Network Open shows.

Even in more recent months, usage overall has continued to rise. In September, telehealth accounted for 4.4 percent of all medical claim lines in the country, a 2.3 percent increase from the month prior, according to a report by FAIR Health.

This rise has led to a crowded virtual primary care market, with several companies, like Amwell and CVS Health, entering the fray.

Within this competitive arena, Hydrogen Health plans to measure the success of its virtual model by tracking reduction in healthcare costs, time saved and rate of accurate diagnoses, Bloch said.

As Hydrogen Health expands its services, it expects to reach millions across the country.

"Our eyes are on our immediate goal to be live for an additional 10 million people than we're currently serving by the end of 2022 and bring quality virtual care to Fortune 500 companies and regional health plans," Bloch said.