Insurer Cigna's health services subsidiary Evernorth announced it acquired asynchronous platform Bright.md, which it will use to enhance the virtual care offerings of its portfolio company MDLIVE. 

Portland-based Bright.md offers an automated patient intake and virtual care connection platform to improve efficiency for hybrid care providers and patients. 

Through Bright.md's platform, patients enter their symptoms and background information that providers normally collect during an initial face-to-face encounter. Clinicians are then provided with a provisional diagnosis and treatment plan for review, which is automatically entered into the EHR.

MDLIVE is a virtual care platform that offers 24/7 access to healthcare providers via phone or video. The company provides urgent care, primary care, mental health and dermatology services. 

MDLIVE announced it will start offering asynchronous care through its virtual urgent care platform in 2024, with plans to expand the tool to its chronic disease management and wellness visits over time. 

The company said it will also add health coaching in its virtual primary care service for patients with chronic conditions. 

"We continually challenge ourselves to improve the health care experience, and by integrating these capabilities, we will significantly improve patient access to high-quality care, free up clinicians to spend more meaningful time with patients and reduce the total cost of care," Dr. Eric Weil, chief medical officer at MDLIVE, said in a statement. "Ultimately, this will help patients get care faster and facilitate more meaningful patient-provider interactions that improve health."

THE LARGER TREND

Evernorth acquired MDLIVE in 2021, and, shortly after, Cigna announced it would offer access to enrollees in employee-sponsored health plans access to telehealth services via MDLIVE. It also launched a virtual-first plan for select employers.