University of Massachusetts (UMass) Memorial Health Care is introducing virtual physician visits for the diagnosis and treatment of common health concerns. The central Massachusetts healthcare organization has partnered with Zipnosis, a Minneapolis-based telehealth company, to provide an online diagnosis and treatment service that will connect patients to UMass Memorial clinicians via the Internet. Treatment for common medical conditions, such as sinus infections, colds and flu, female bladder infections, and pink eye, will be available on-demand thanks to telemedicine technology.
“Through our partnership with Zipnosis, we are excited to give more patients access to fast, affordable mainstream medicine in minutes,” says Eric Dickson, President and CEO, UMass Memorial. “The Zipnosis platform will allow us to make high-quality care from our own clinicians available to patients where and when they want to receive it, at an affordable price.
Starting in October, any of UMass Memorial Health Care’s 12,900 employees who have a UMass Memorial provider will be able to use the new service. The healthcare system hopes to offer virtual visits to the general public in early 2016. It is anticipated that these telehealth visits will be offered for a flat fee and may be covered by most insurance.
The virtual care service is available 24-hours a day, with provider diagnosis and treatment available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Requests that come in at night will be prioritized for response in the morning in order to assure patients are cared for as quickly as possible.
