Carena launches partnerships to expand virtual clinics

Carena announced today it has had strong growth in 2015 with the launch of four new health system partnerships that have expanded access to 6.3 million people through system-branded virtual clinics.

UW Medicine in Seattle; INTEGRIS Health in Oklahoma City; Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee; and Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield, Illinois, have partnered with Carena to provide consumers with virtual urgent care clinics.

Carena’s partners now deliver access to on-demand care through phones, tablets or computers to 13 million people.

“We are pleased to partner with these leading health systems that are redefining health care with new models and services for the way we live and work today,” Carena CEO Ralph Derrickson said. “These partnerships demonstrate how our Virtual Clinic technology can create new consumer-friendly options for receiving medical care that lowers costs and increases access to high quality care."

Telemedicine is growing as a means of providing health care. System-branded virtual clinics allow patients access to 24/7 on-demand care via phone, tablet or computer from local systems. The virtual clinics extend health systems’ services and operate under the brand of the local provider, whose target price points are in line with or lower than those of a traditional in-person visit.