News Briefs: Cigna Tucks In a New Telehealth Asset
The Cigna Group’s Evernorth division said on Oct. 10 that it acquired Bright.md, which provides “asynchronous care, triage, and health care navigation services.” The new acquisition’s capabilities will be added to Evernorth’s existing telehealth platform, MDLIVE, starting in 2024, the company said. Once the two telehealth offerings are combined, patients seeking care will be guided through a “digital clinical interview” that is then converted into a comprehensive chart note — rather than going immediately to a real-time clinician interaction. A clinician then will review the patient’s responses and offer a diagnosis, care plan or prescription, or the patient will be connected “to a different modality or setting for care when clinically appropriate.” Evernorth noted that “this asynchronous care experience is not based on artificial intelligence or machine learning, and all care decisions are made by clinicians.” Additionally, MDLIVE will expand its chronic care management to include health coaching.