PROBLEM
Health insurance is often a barrier for patients in need of healthcare, especially when it comes to seeing a specialist. Insurance companies typically require a referral from a primary care physician to see a specialist, which means paying two deductibles, making time for two appointments, and traveling to two doctors. Additionally, specialists are often booked out for weeks or even months at a time.
In order to avoid the lengthy and expensive process of traditional healthcare, EmDee and AndPlus developed a mobile telehealth and telemedicine solution that gives patients easy access to specialized doctors, bypassing the need for health insurance verification, insurance protocol, and traditional office environments.
SOLUTION
EmDee’s mobile application created a portal for patients to search a nationwide directory of doctors by field of specialty and location, then filter results by specific symptoms or issues. A calendar integration displays the availability of the doctor, giving patients the option to schedule a remote video consultation. It also allows the flexibility for both doctors and patients to conduct appointments during off-hours.
To ensure that financial limitations were not a barrier for patients, EmDee proposed charging a flat rate for appointments and eliminating the need for a third party to exchange money from patient to doctor. Based on calculations of development and maintenance costs, AndPlus advised on a dollar number (and resulting project scope) for the service’s flat rate that would be both affordable for patients as well as profitable for EmDee. Patients have the option to either pay the flat rate out of pocket, or to submit to their insurance company for medical reimbursement.
In addition to building the custom application, AndPlus recommended a cost-effective tech stack that integrated existing APIs, both to save money on the project scope, and also to facilitate ease of use. Twilio was used for video meetings and in-app chat and text messaging, Okta was used for patient verification, and Stripe was used for the payment gateway. For further efficiency, the application was built using an Ionic cross-platform framework to accommodate both iOS and Android smart devices, eliminating the need to write custom code for each operating system.
OUTCOME
The introduction of EmDee’s mobile application will help change the landscape of healthcare. Doctors nationwide can contribute to public health and wellbeing without the complications added by private insurance and protocol. Additionally, faster, easier access to specialized doctors will help patients with time-sensitive symptoms, mobility restrictions, financial restrictions, and patients without access to transportation. Telemedicine applications for healthcare will continue to become more useful in tracking and studying patient data for more targeted care and a better understanding of the attributes of patient outcomes.
ABOUT EMDEE
EmDee is a Perrysburg, OH based telehealth and telemedicine company, founded in 2020 by Dr. Shaukat Rashid.
TECHNOLOGY USED
