Washington Health System Launches Text-Based Virtual Care Service

The University of Washington health system is launching a subscription-based mHealth app offering on-demand virtual care via text message.

UW Medicine is partnering with Seattle-based digital health company 98point6 on the direct-to-consumer telehealth platform, which will be offered to patients for $30 a month (plus $1 per visit) for the first three months and $120 a year (plus $1 a visit) after that.

The service replaces a telehealth service operated for the past year and a half with Amwell.

“We listened to patients and heard that they want a simpler, more accessible way of getting their medical concerns addressed,” John Scott, MD, medical director of UW Medicine Digital Health, said in a press release. “We’re confident that this new collaboration offers the safe and convenient care that they seek.”

“This service extends the reach of physicians and allows them to focus on their highest value activity - spending time treating patients,” he added, noting the service was recommended by physicians at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Valley Medical Center.

Through the text messaging platform, physicians employed by 98point6 can diagnose and provide care options, including ordering prescriptions and labs. The data is shared with the patient’s care team at UW Medicine and integrated into the medical record.

The service is one of a growing number of DTC telehealth offerings that health systems are using to enable convenient access to care, while curbing unnecessary trips to the doctor’s office or Emergency Department and reducing waiting room congestion.

The platform is particularly important in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which is straining hospital resources and pushing more services from in-person to online channels. UW Medicine officials have seen virtual visits jump from about 200 a month to 1,500 a day because of COVID-19.