UnitedHealthcare and Arizona Physicians IPA Bring to Arizona the "House Call for the 21st Century"; 18-Wheel Mobile Clinic Showcases Advanced Technology
PHOENIX (Oct. 7, 2009) – UnitedHealthcare and Arizona Physicians IPA, a unit of AmeriChoice, introduced the "house call for the 21st century" to Arizona on Wednesday, featuring a demonstration of advanced video technology that connects patients and physicians. Called Connected Care, it is part of UnitedHealthcare's initiative to build a national telehealth network.
An 18-wheel mobile clinic is touring the nation and stopped in Phoenix today to showcase the technology and connectivity available through Connected Care. In addition, UnitedHealthcare and AmeriChoice are sponsoring several free public health screenings at local community centers as part of the event.
The Connected Care mobile clinic features advanced audio and video technologies and health resources to create for patients an experience remarkably similar to an in-person visit with a doctor. The technology in the mobile unit illustrates what will soon be rolled out in the workplace, retail and rural locations and, eventually, the home.
"Connected Care is our latest effort to improve and expand access to quality care throughout Arizona and the nation," said Benton Davis, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Arizona. "The combination of this advanced technology and our national physician and hospital network will help reduce geographic barriers to care and make it easier for people to see a doctor."
UnitedHealthcare's mobile clinic was at the Arizona State Capitol today, where local officials toured the Connected Care mobile unit and watched a live demonstration of the technology. Separately, the mobile unit will serve as a backdrop for free health screenings being held this week at community centers in the Phoenix area. The screenings are open to the public and are slated for the South Mountain Community Center today from 8 to 11 a.m. and the Chandler Christian Community Center on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
UnitedHealthcare and AmeriChoice, both UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) companies, collectively serve more than 1 million people in Arizona. Nationwide, UnitedHealth Group's diverse health businesses serve more than 70 million Americans. The company's national reach and deep experience in merging technology with clinical expertise gives Connected Care the broad scale that other telehealth programs have not achieved.
"For many people in rural areas, seeing a physician sometimes means traveling long distances, which is especially challenging for seniors and the critically ill," said Dr. Rodney Armstead, senior vice president, West Region Plan Operations for AmeriChoice. "We believe Connected Care will enhance our nation's rural health infrastructure and unlock new possibilities for how physicians and medical staff interact with patients."
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of more than 25 million individual consumers, contracting directly with approximately 590,000 physicians and care professionals and more than 4,900 hospitals to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
About AmeriChoice
AmeriChoice is the nation's largest Medicaid managed care company, serving more than 2.6 million beneficiaries of Medicare, the Children's Health Insurance Program and programs for the uninsured, as well as Medicaid, in more than 20 states and the District of Columbia. AmeriChoice is a unit of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
About Arizona Physicians IPA
Arizona Physicians IPA (APIPA) serves 283,000 Medicaid beneficiaries, including KidsCare, in LaPaz, Maricopa, Pima and Yuma counties. APIPA also serves the state's Developmentally Disabled members in all counties and implements the CRS program on behalf of the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs. The health plan is a unit of AmeriChoice, the public sector health care business of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). AmeriChoice serves 2.6 million people in government-sponsored health care programs in more than 20 states and the District of Columbia.