Sunrise, Florida-based MDLive, which offers patient-to-physician remote visits via mobile devices, has partnered with Microsoft to deliver telehealth services through Microsoft's Skype for Business offering.
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 and just this week announced a new product, called Skype for Business, which will replace Microsoft's legacy video conferencing offering, Lync. Skype for Business is integrated into Microsoft's Office Suite and offers enterprise-level security.
"We are excited to work with Microsoft to marry one of the best known and most secure video and voice call platforms with a world class network of physicians ready to deliver exceptional care to patients anywhere," MDLive CEO Randy Parker said in a statement. "This collaboration makes MDLive's highly secure service even stronger."
MDLive sells its telehealth service to employers, health plans, and providers which, in turn, offer it to their employees, members, and patients. The company also markets video visits services directly to consumers via a smartphone app. The app has a symptom checker that consumers can use to learn more about what condition they might have and from there they can make an appointment to speak with a physician. Symptoms MDLive doctors commonly treat include allergies, asthma, bronchitis, cold and flu, ear infections, UTIs, and sinus infections.
"In MDLive we see a true partner, one that understands and can deliver on the vision of transforming the healthcare experience for consumers anywhere there is an internet connection," Microsoft Chief Health Strategy Officer Dennis Schmuland said in a statement. "We are thrilled to bring the promise of telehealth to millions of patients through Skype for Business."
MDLive CTO Bryan Dennstedt told MobiHealthNews that the company plans to launch a version of the app for the Windows Phone within the next 30 days.
At the end of last year, MDLive acquired online therapy provider Breakthrough Behavioral. At the beginning of 2014, it raised $23.6 million in a round led by Heritage Group with participation from Sutter Health and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors.
