Nowadays reaching a doctor is just a swipe away. Patients who use virtual care apps are able to receive on-demand treatment, counseling, and expert medical opinion without having to visit the doctor’s office. “Virtual care is the great equalizer in healthcare—it’s convenient, high-quality, and low-cost,” says Teladoc Health CEO Jason Gorevic.
Through its online platform, Teladoc Health offers comprehensive medical and mental health services that serve organizations and people all over the world. “Eliminating the physical barriers to get care reduces costs,” Gorevic tells Susie Gharib of Fortune. Teladoc Health’s technology improves patient access to healthcare, while using a portion of a doctor’s time that might otherwise go unused.
Telemedicine also comes in handy during natural disasters, which can lead to a shortage of medical professionals. In 2018, Teladoc Health partnered with Blue Shield of California to provide telemedicine services at no additional cost to patients in Paradise, California, a small town incinerated by wildfires. “We stood up a virtual care practice for that medical group so they [could] go back to work and take care of the community,” says Gorevic. [
Teladoc Health also created the first-ever patient safety organization for virtual care delivery, according to Gorevic. The organization collects data about virtual care activities and collaborates with healthcare systems to measure the quality of virtual care. Quality is important. “It’s one of the biggest barriers to consumer adoption of virtual care,” says Gorevic.
Teladoc Health has approximately $417 million in 2018 revenue with solid year-over-year growth in U.S. paid memberships. While the company has a long way to go to join the Fortune 500 ranks of Walmart, Amazon or CVS Health, Gorevic says the company’s employees still think of Teladoc Health as a Fortune 500 company based on the impact it can have on society.
Watch the video above for more of Fortune’s interview with Gorevic.
