Humana Inc., https://www.humana.com and DispatchHealth https://www.DispatchHealth.com, a provider of in-home medical care, have signed an agreement to provide Humana members with access to an advanced level of care in the home.
These services will be available in Denver, Colorado and Tacoma, Washington with expansion to markets in Texas, Arizona, and Nevada planned for later this year.
The agreement will provide members living with multiple chronic conditions such as cellulitis, kidney and urinary tract infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, plus other conditions be treated safely at home and avoid hospital visits.
Last November, CDC announced a waiver program to allow qualified healthcare providers to offer acute, hospital-level care in the home. The Dispatch-Humana agreement is believed to be the country’s first program to provide hospital level care in the home involving a national payer.
Humana members who meet the clinical admission criteria will have access to an on-call dedicated DispatchHealth medical team. The medical team includes an internal medicine trained physician with ER experience and a physician assistant or nurse practitioner. Patients receive 24/7 physician coverage with remote monitoring, an emergency call button, and daily visits from the medical team which includes bedside nursing.
DispatchHealth also coordinates with other critical services, such as pharmacies, meal deliveries, physical and respiratory therapy, Durable Medical Equipment (DME) access, and imaging services.
In addition to Advanced Care, DispatchHealth offers on-demand care services to treat simple to complex injuries and illnesses in more than 29 cities and is rapidly expanding to new cities. Patients can request a care visit by contacting the company via phone, website, or by mobile app and a medical team will arrive within two hours.