Virtual Care Platform Wheel Expands Its Services, Focusing on Convenience

The virtual care platform Wheel recently made news by saying it would add three companies into its integrated health care ecosystem this year. The additions of mental health provider Talkspace, Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company and the data-sharing program Health Gorilla will give Wheel a deeper bench of services with which to connect consumers.

Wheel’s ecosystem is designed to simplify and streamline health care access for consumers in a single virtual care destination. The platform is available to all its customers who build their virtual care programs on the Wheel platform.

The company provides the underlying infrastructure to work with payers, retailers like Amazon, pharmaceutical companies and other health care companies, and has a nationwide network of clinicians. Wheel’s technology helps companies scale up telehealth services in a matter of weeks vs. what normally takes 15 months, company officials said.

The integration with Talkspace is designed to make it easier for consumers to connect virtually with mental health services without long wait times to see a clinician. With access through Wheel, consumers can get home delivery of any of Cost Plus Drugs’ 2,300 prescription medications.

Health Gorilla enables patients and their care teams to leverage all diagnostic results for fast and effective virtual care, Wheel noted in a statement.

To date, Wheel has raised $216 million in funding and states that it has delivered care to more than 4.5 million people through its tailored services.

Officials say that research they commissioned shows that more than 70% of consumers said virtual care had saved them time and allowed them to see a clinician outside of normal in-person office hours. And about 60% said they are willing to pay extra over an in-person appointment for virtual care.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the company. Last year, it laid off 56 employees (28% of its workforce) less than a year after letting go 17% of its staff, MobiHealth News reported.