California-based virtual care company Included Health is partnering with Denver-based in-home care provider DispatchHealth to add a virtual-to-in-home care model to its offerings. 

Included Health delivers healthcare benefits and insurance navigation services as well as virtual primary care, behavioral health, specialty care and 24/7 urgent care appointments. 

DispatchHealth allows patients to request an at-home urgent care medical visit via telephone or through the company's app or website. A clinician is then scheduled to arrive at the patient's home within two hours. The company sends two medical professionals each visit, typically a physician assistant or nurse practitioner and a DispatchHealth medical technician.

Through the partnership, the companies will supplement online care with on-demand, in-home clinical support, treating common to complex injuries, diseases and illnesses. 

Included Health's primary care clinicians will be able to work with DispatchHealth's nurse practitioners, emergency medical technicians and physician assistants. In-home services will also include diagnostics, pharma and lab services. The companies say the offering will reduce unnecessary emergency department visits. 

"Connecting virtual-first care to a network of experts who can bring urgent medical services into the home is about serving people's preferences and needs first while also better managing the journey and cost of healthcare overall," Dr. Ami Parekh, chief health officer for Included Health, said in a statement. "Working with DispatchHealth is an incredible extension to our service, one that will remove the friction, travel and stress associated with visiting a resource-strained emergency room or urgent care center and allow our members to be treated and recover in an often preferred setting–the home."

THE LARGER TREND

In 2021, Included Health was acquired by Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand, which allowed Included Health's LGBTQ+ care navigation services to be added to Grand Rounds' virtual care platform. 

Last year, Included Health was one of several companies that announced layoffs. The virtual care provider let go of less than 6% of its workforce as part of a company restructuring.

DispatchHealth raised $330 million in funding in November, bringing its total raise to over $700 million. The round came just one year after it scored $200 million in Series D financing. 

The company also established several partnerships last year. In December, Blue Shield of California announced its members living in Southern California would have access to home care through a collaboration with DispatchHealth, and Oklahoma's Saint Francis Health System relayed it would partner with DispatchHealth to offer in-home care services in the Tulsa region.  

Marshfield Clinic Health System, a large rural healthcare system, also announced a partnership with DispatchHealth to offer in-home acute care in Wisconsin.