DispatchHealth Forms Partnerships With Blue Shield of California, Saint Francis Health System

DispatchHealth — a company that delivers high-acuity care and other services in the home setting — has entered two new partnerships that increase access to its offerings.

Originally launched as an in-home urgent care startup, Denver-based DispatchHealth delivers higher-acuity care, including offering hospital-level care, in the home.

Blue Shield of California, an independent member of the Blue Shield Association with 4.7 million members, is one of the two organizations that DispatchHealth is partnering with.

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The collaboration will give Blue Shield of California members living in Southern California access to DispatchHealth’s services, which include medical professionals who can treat a variety of health conditions. Examples include respiratory infections, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“With our DispatchHealth collaboration, Blue Shield can provide a convenient way for members to access quality care directly in their homes,” Peter Long, executive vice president of strategy and health solutions at Blue Shield of California, said in a press statement. “Meeting members where they are and removing barriers to care with quality at-home medical services is part of our mission to provide health care that’s worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable.”

Blue Shield of California noted that while testing DispatchHealth’s services, the organization discovered that over half of its members that used the services did so after 5 p.m. The organization noted that this is when the majority of primary care providers are closed and when emergency rooms are busiest.

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“DispatchHealth was created to bring safe, high-acuity care to patients with complex medical needs who often struggle with access to care,” Dr. Mark Prather, co-founder and CEO of DispatchHealth, said in the statement. “As we have expanded our offerings and collaborations within the industry, we continue to believe care in the home is more patient-centered and offers the opportunity for better outcomes. We are grateful to deliver on the benefits of home-based care with Blue Shield of California.”

In addition to Blue Shield of California, DispatchHealth has also teamed up with Saint Francis Health System in a separate partnership. The aim of the deal is to bring services to the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area.

“We know that patients’ care needs are rapidly evolving and access to care in communities is paramount,” Prather said in a statement. “DispatchHealth’s value-based care approach and partnerships empower health systems like Saint Francis to go beyond traditional care settings and extend their reach to even more patients.”

Saint Francis Health System is an organization that operates health care facilities across eastern Oklahoma.

Through the partnership, patients in the Tulsa community will be able to request and receive care services without a referral.

“The pandemic has changed how and where patients want to interact with their health care providers; care in the home – whether virtual or in-person – has become the expectation not the exception,” Dr. Cliff Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, said in a press statement. “Innovation, value and patient experience are three areas of focus for us. Our partnership with DispatchHealth incorporates all of these pillars in a very accessible and affordable way for our patients.”

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