Starting in January 2016, many ConnectiCare members with commercial health plans will be able to use MDLIVE for telemedicine visits by telephone or online, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
A large network of board-certified doctors will be available for medical consults through MDLIVE. The MDLIVE visit can take place by telephone or through a secure video connection established through a smartphone using MDLIVE’s mobile app (the most popular choice) or through a desktop or laptop computer.
ConnectiCare members will be encouraged to use MDLIVE for non-emergency situations from their homes or offices or when they are traveling. MDLIVE doctors can prescribe medications, if needed, and can send prescriptions directly to patients’ pharmacies. MDLIVE consults are available in many languages.
Experience has shown that telemedicine can reduce the number of unnecessary emergency department visits by diagnosing and treating low-acuity conditions such as sinusitis, bronchitis and upper respiratory infections.
An MDLIVE medical visit will cost a member no more than $40, depending on the member’s health plan. MDLIVE doctors will, when appropriate, refer patients to primary care providers, urgent care centers or emergency departments.
MDLIVE’s coordination with primary care physicians (PCPs)
Before each consult, MDLIVE will ask the member to confirm the name of his or her primary care physician (PCP) and ask if the member wants the consultation record sent to the PCP. If the answer is yes, MDLIVE will send the PCP a summary of the medical record with relevant clinical information in one of two ways:
- If the PCP has an electronic medical record (EMR) system that is integrated with MDLIVE, then MDLIVE will send the medical record using the HIPAA-standard continuity of care document format to the PCP; or
- If the PCP does not have an integrated EMR, MDLIVE will send the medical record by secure fax.
Informing our members about telemedicine
Members with ConnectiCare SOLO individual health plans or health plans purchased on the Connecticut health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, will be able to use MDLIVE. Most group commercial health insurance plans members can also use MDLIVE. ConnectiCare VIP Medicare Advantage members cannot use MDLIVE through their plans.
ConnectiCare members can register and use MDLIVE through the ConnectiCare member website after Jan. 1, 2016. News about MDLIVE telemedicine services is included in marketing information being sent to current and prospective members during this fall’s open enrollment, including this video, MDLIVE: How it Works.
For more information about joining the MDLIVE physician network
MDLIVE is continuing to recruit doctors and medical groups to their telemedicine network in anticipation of future demand and growth. MDLIVE will waive the participation fee for doctors in the ConnectiCare network. If you are interested in learning more, you can contact MDLIVE for information about credentialing, training and scheduling.
MDLIVE and the MDLIVE logo are registered trademarks of MDLIVE, Inc. and may not be used without permission.
