There’s a huge, untapped market in big cities for telemedicine.
So a New York City startup, DocChat, whose founder and CEO is Michael Okhavi, wants to change that, in part “by targeting young adults without regular primary-care physicians, but also by seeking a federal policy change,” reports MedCity News.
“There’s no relationship with the doctor anymore,” Mr. Okhravi told the publication, citing McKinsey & Co. data showing that nearly two-thirds of millennials do not have regular primary-care physicians.
MedCity reports that DocChat “guarantees app-based access to a physician within 15 minutes, with video visits available 24/7 for $50. Clients get the doctor’s cell phone for follow-up care at no extra charge.”
But MR. Okhravi complains that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services doesn’t reimburse for telemedicine services delivered in urban areas. “There has been an exception since the beginning of 2014 for rural portions of densely populated counties, but urban residents still can’t get Medicare or Medicaid to pay for telemedicine, leaving Medicaid populations in particular with few alternatives to expensive emergency departments for routine car,” MedCity reported.
Mr. Okhravi said DocChat has been piloting telemedicine at a primary-care clinic in the Bronx. “So far, the results have been great,” although he said that had no hard data to share yet.
