PHOENIX: Heal is one of several startups putting a high-tech spin on old-fashioned house calls—or “in-person visits,” since they can take place anywhere. The services provide a range of nonemergency medical care—from giving flu shots to treating strep throats and stitching lacerations—much like a mobile urgent-care clinic.
The companies use slightly different models. Pager dispatches doctors or nurse practitioners via Uber. Heal promises to “get a doctor to your sofa in under an hour.”
RetraceHealth has a nurse practitioner consult with patients via video, and only comes to their homes if hands-on care like a throat swab or blood draw is necessary.
An Uber-type service to allow doctors to make house calls? There’s an app for that.
MedZed sends a nurse to a patient’s home to do a preliminary exam. Then the nurse connects via laptop with a doctor who provides a treatment plan remotely. Several practices use MedZed as a way to offer patients extended hours without having to keep their offices open…