The online pharmacy Nurx advertises itself as the company that "gives women sexual freedom." Hims & Hers aims to "eliminate stigma" and improve healthcare access. Tia offers telehealth services focused on "whole woman, whole life."
A handful of telehealth companies are dipping into payment systems that reward them for keeping patients’ costs low and penalize them for overspending — a potentially risky move for companies still finding financial footing, but one that could win them favor with large health plans and employers.
Far from being a new kind of health system, the plethora of virtual-first digital health offerings — in which patients’ initial entry point is with a virtual provider they do not know — are a clumsy power grab intended to detach patients from trusted relationships with established caregivers.