Castlight Health this week announced a new virtual urgent care service that integrates with its benefits navigation app.

WHY IT MATTERS
The offering, powered by a virtual care platform from Fabric, aims to offer a "unified, high-quality care experience" accessible for Castlight members, the company says, providing continuity of care via chat-based visits delivered by licensed physicians and nurse practitioners.

Fabric's technology enables queuing and on-demand visits to support video, phone and chat-based visits. Integration with the Castlight app offers quick care from anywhere, with on-demand appointments available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Chat and video visits can be set up with a provider in just 5 minutes and completed – with consults for conditions such as cold and flu, medication refills and more – within 15 minutes.

The tool has been piloted by several Fortune 500 companies, according to Castlight Health and will now be commercially available nationwide – offering employers and health plans another option for virtual healthcare as they strive to improve health outcomes.

ON THE RECORD
"Fabric is proud to partner with Castlight to power on-demand virtual urgent care access for millions of lives across America's leading employers and health plans," Fabric CEO Aniq Rahman said in a statement.

"By guiding members to the most effective and efficient care modalities – whether asynchronous, video, voice or chat – we're making high-quality care more accessible than ever," he added. "This partnership ensures members can connect with trusted providers and receive the care they need within minutes."

"By embedding Fabric's technology within our navigation platform to deliver virtual urgent care, we're making it easier for employees to get care when and where they need it, and ensuring that their care journey is coordinated, high-quality and seamlessly connected to the broader healthcare ecosystem," Jonathan Porter, CEO of apree health, Castlight's parent company, said in a statement.

Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.