Vidyo, American Well partner to enable Online Care services

Vidyo, Inc., the first company to deliver personal telepresence, today announced a partnership with American Well™, whose Online Care Suite connects providers and patients for live, immediate, and clinically meaningful encounters using the Web or phone. By incorporating Vidyo's award-winning communications and collaboration platform using VidyoTechnology™ into the Online Care system, American Well will offer its customers a compelling new option to further enhance the highly personal, face-to-face interactions between providers and patients.

American Well partners with health plans, delivery networks and pharmacy chains to enable Online Care services that allow patients to connect live and on-demand with primary care and specialty physicians, as well as other clinicians, whenever they have a health need, from their homes or workplaces. Providers are able to review the patient's clinical information, discuss symptoms, diagnose, and prescribe medications as appropriate, for anything from common illnesses such as colds, flu, and sinus infections to chronic care management, behavioral health or nutrition. At the end of the consultation, the patient is encouraged to share a full record of the conversation with his or her primary care physician, maintaining continuity of care.

"Telehealth is playing an increasingly important role in American healthcare delivery, and at the heart of that shift is the high quality of the Online Care interaction - offering both patients and providers a confidential, convenient, and immersive experience," said Roy Schoenberg, MD, MPH, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Well Systems. "Vidyo's platform will enhance all of these dimensions through its ability to deliver robust, HD video quality over the Internet."

"Vidyo for Healthcare provides quick and easy video communications and collaboration access to those who need a high-quality, affordable telemedicine solution," said Ofer Shapiro, Vidyo co-founder and CEO. "Using Vidyo's platform, partners such as American Well can build client applications using the VidyoTechnology APIs. Their client organizations, in turn, can enable customers to deploy video conferencing from anywhere, allowing patients and practitioners to use their existing laptops or desktops."

American Well's Online Care Suite will begin incorporating Vidyo technology in the summer of 2011.

Source: Vidyo, Inc.