Bluestream Health Powers NYC Health + Hospital's Expansion of COVID-19 Virtual ExpressCare 'Test To Treat' Program across New York State

New York State Department of Health taps NYC Health + Hospitals ExpressCare for Statewide COVID-19 'Test to Treat' model – in New York City, ExpressCare has prevented 800 hospitalizations and saved 160 lives through life-saving COVID-19 therapeutics

NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluestream Health, a virtual care Platform-as-a-Service, announced today that it's powering the NYC Health + Hospitals ExpressCare platform that New York State Department of Health is using as part of the administration's ongoing efforts to keep New Yorkers protected throughout the pandemic.  New York State Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the launch based on the NYC Health + Hospitals ExpressCare program's high marks in consumer satisfaction and proven patient outcomes for public health programs within New York City, specifically facilitating better access to early COVID-19 therapeutic treatments that help prevent severe illness.

The recently announced program, launched by New York State, leverages NYC Health + Hospitals' virtual urgent care model, ExpressCare, which is powered by Bluestream Health's technology platform. The announcement unveiled a new, statewide telephone hotline – 888-TREAT-NY – and NYS COVID-19 Therapeutics Access website, enabling New Yorkers to connect to an ExpressCare provider and get immediate access to anti-viral medications if they test positive for COVID-19.  The service is universally accessible by both phone and video in 200+ languages and without the need for a smartphone or high-speed internet access.

According to NYC Health + Hospitals ExpressCare program, has through its 'test to treat' approach prevented more than 1,150 hospitalizations saved over 225 lives. Virtual ExpressCare developed the first virtual-first hybrid COVID-19 therapeutics model nationally, removing barriers to care and offering same- or next-day access to in-person monoclonal antibody infusion treatment and COVID Antivirals through home delivery. NYC Health + Hospitals has been delivering innovative virtual care under its ExpressCare program across multiple initiatives, including transforming the NYC 911 EMS system, developing 24/7 on-demand behavioral health and addiction services, and embedding into the NYC Department of Homeless Services to offer wrap-around urgent care services to all shelters.

As part of its efforts to partner with EMS to transform the NYC 911 system, NYC Health + Hospitals has also redirected more than 10,000 911 calls to Virtual ExpressCare and has avoided more than 5,000 ambulance transports and emergency department visits. When compared to an industry benchmark of 10 percent of ambulance transports avoided – Virtual ExpressCare has saved nearly five times more patients treated without ambulance transport, saving millions of dollars and improving patient satisfaction.

"NYC Health + Hospitals leads the nation in its Covid 'test to treat' model and is the single largest prescriber of Paxlovid in New York by a significant margin," said Erfan Karim, Executive Director of ExpressCare and Assistant Vice President of Mobile Integrated Health at NYC Health + Hospitals. "This approach has been wildly successful, and we are excited to spread ExpressCare and the health system's mission beyond the 5 boroughs of NYC to help all New Yorkers."

"We have reimagined on-demand hybrid care delivery and continue to build innovative models that target the equity concerns around access to care," said Christopher Philippou, Chief Operating Officer of ExpressCare, who leads efforts to transform the NYC 911/EMS system at NYC Health + Hospitals. "We have been able to successfully leverage partnerships to close the last mile for patients through offering transportation and at-home prescription delivery."

"Bluestream Health was founded by a group of New Yorkers who are passionate about addressing healthcare disparities and providing real on-demand access to care to all patients," said Brian Yarnell, President of Bluestream Health. "I can't think of a greater honor than to be selected by the State of New York to provide mission-critical access to live-saving treatment options for COVID-19 to our fellow New Yorkers."

To learn more about Bluestream Health visit https://www.bluestreamhealth.com/

Bluestream Health is a virtual care Platform-as-a-Service delivering broad access to care for patients and operational efficiency for providers. It combines lightweight and flexible tools to design and deploy digital front doors for healthcare with patented workflow systems to automatically manage complex clinical delivery in real-time, 24/7. Bluestream is used by leading healthcare organizations to deliver ambulatory visits, virtual-first healthcare, emergency medicine, behavioral health consults, language interpreting and other mission-critical initiatives.

Erin Farrell Talbot
Farrell Talbot Consulting
[email protected]
917-232-9309

SOURCE Bluestream Health, Inc.