• Acquisition will add asynchronous care, triage, and navigation capabilities to Evernorth's MDLIVE virtual care platform for a more convenient, on-demand experience for patients and clinicians beginning in 2024
• MDLIVE virtual primary care expands chronic condition care management to include health coaching beginning immediately

BLOOMFIELD, Conn., Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Evernorth Health Services, the pharmacy, care, and benefits solution division of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), announced it will enhance MDLIVE's virtual care by acquiring the technology and clinical capabilities of Bright.md, a leader in asynchronous care, triage, and health care navigation services. In addition, MDLIVE is enhancing its virtual primary care service to include health coaching for patients with chronic conditions.

"We continually challenge ourselves to improve the health care experience, and by integrating these capabilities we will significantly improve patient access to high-quality care, free up clinicians to spend more meaningful time with patients, and reduce the total cost of care," said Dr. Eric Weil, chief medical officer, MDLIVE. "Ultimately, this will help patients get care faster and facilitate more meaningful patient-provider interactions that improve health."

Asynchronous care will make care more convenient for MDLIVE patients; reduce administrative burden on clinicians

Asynchronous care is the next step in delivering highly convenient and timely care for patients, while reducing administrative burden on clinicians. Patients can initiate care on-demand without the need for a real-time clinician interaction. MDLIVE will begin to offer asynchronous care within its virtual urgent care platform to clients and patients in 2024 and will expand the tool to support chronic disease management and wellness visits over time.

"We are transforming how care is accessed, coordinated and delivered to improve overall health– and virtual care is a critical component of our path forward as we enhance our primary care services to address health holistically," said Jon Salon, president, MDLIVE. "By investing in digital, virtual-led care capabilities and diversifying the way our patients can access health care, we are creating a simpler, more personalized experience that can drive better outcomes." 

Patients will be guided through a digital clinical interview that is converted into a comprehensive chart note. A licensed clinician reviews patient responses and provides a diagnosis, care plan, prescriptions, or connects the patient to a different modality or setting for care when clinically appropriate. This asynchronous care experience is not based on artificial intelligence or machine learning, and all care decisions are made by clinicians.

"We know firsthand the power of asynchronous care to treat a wide range of common conditions that currently make up more than half of urgent and primary care visits, such as rashes, urinary tract infections, and pink eye," said Steve Giannini, chief executive officer, Bright.md. "Bringing Bright.md's technology together with MDLIVE has exciting potential to expand access to care for millions more people—alleviating administrative burden on clinicians and improving outcomes."

Expanded health coaching enhances support for patients with chronic conditions

MDLIVE is also expanding chronic condition care management to include health coaching as part of the care plan developed by a patient's MDLIVE primary care physician. The health coaching program is physician-prescribed and integrated into MDLIVE virtual primary care, enabling providers to keep patients engaged and supported in between visits and help manage lifestyle changes, such as weight management, healthy eating, physical activity, and sleep management.

MDLIVE health coaching is powered by Welldoc^®, a digital health leader in chronic care with FDA-cleared solutions. The program includes personalized insights and reminders to help patients track progress against their goals, easily record and monitor vitals through activity tracking devices, and manage medications and activity goals. It also helps the patient's MDLIVE physician and care team stay up-to-date and engaged on the patient's progress.

About Evernorth Health Services 

Evernorth Health Services creates pharmacy, care, and benefits solutions to improve health and increase vitality. We relentlessly innovate to make the prediction, prevention, and treatment of illness and disease more accessible to millions of people. Evernorth capabilities are powered by our businesses, including Express Scripts, Express Scripts Pharmacy, Accredo, eviCore, and MDLIVE, along with holistic Evernorth platforms and solutions that move people and organizations forward. All Evernorth solutions are serviced and provided by or through operating affiliates of Evernorth Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), or third-party partners. Learn more at evernorth.com. 

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