Teladoc Health is expanding its retail partnerships with a new tie-up with Walmart to offer its virtual care services through the company's Better Care Services platform.
Walmart launched the digital health platform earlier this year as a one-stop hub to connect customers to third-party telehealth providers. In April, the retail giant expanded the platform's weight management offerings, including access to GLP-1 medications.
For Teladoc, the collaboration with Walmart will enable the retailer's customers to access virtual urgent care, dermatology and nutrition services with insurance benefitS and cash-pay options. This follows the January launch of Teladoc Health’s BetterHelp mental health offering on Walmart’s Better Care Services platform.
For a cash-pay price of $89 per visit, Walmart customers can access Teladoc Health’s virtual clinical practice to connect with providers to treat a range of common conditions, including sinus infections, pink eye, UTIs, cold and flu symptoms. For dermatology visits, patients can upload photos of a skin issue to get help for rashes, sunburns, skin infections and other issues. Within 24 hours, a board-certified dermatologist will carefully review, share a diagnosis and custom treatment plan, according to Teladoc Health.
For the company's nutrition services, customers can work one-on-one with a registered dietitian to receive a personalized nutrition guide, plus support for diabetes, weight management and prenatal nutrition.
If a customer needs a prescription, the medication can be sent to a pharmacy, including Walmart's pharmacy services, which enables same-day delivery and, in many locations, there is one-hour prescription delivery, the companies said.
More than 100 million people have access to Teladoc Health's services and the company works with more than 100 U.S. health plans.
The collaboration brings together the biggest retailer in America with the largest nationwide network of virtual care providers from Teladoc Health to reach people where they already are, making care more convenient and affordable, Teladoc Health executives said.
"Millions of Americans already turn to Walmart for their everyday health and wellness needs, so this partnership creates a new touchpoint, really bringing our trusted clinical network and services directly into the Walmart experience," Kelly Bliss, Teladoc Health’s President of U.S. Group Health, told Fierce Healthcare. "It's a logical partnership. We want to be where Americans already go when making decisions around their health and this partnership combines the scale and reach and makes quality virtual care available where they're already making those health decisions."
Teladoc Health's service also includes quick insurance eligibility checks for the one in three Americans already covered through Teladoc Health via employers or health plans.
"Healthcare should be easier to access, easier to understand and more affordable," said Leslie Fletcher, Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, Walmart U.S. Health & Wellness, in a statement. "By adding Teladoc Health, we’re continuing to expand Better Care Services with more options for care, paired with fast, convenient access to everyday health needs and prescriptions."
Teladoc Health has been growing its retail and platform partnerships. The virtual care company integrates its chronic condition management service into Amazon's marketplace, which connects consumers with health benefit programs.
Recently, Teladoc partnered with Instacart to integrate its cardiometabolic programs directly to grocery access. Members can earn Instacart Health fresh funds, which are digital grocery stipends, by completing program-specific device checks like blood glucose readings or smart scale weigh-ins. Members can also add ingredients from Teladoc's curated nutrition content, like heart-healthy dinner recipes or diabetes-friendly meal plans, straight to their Instacart cart.
"We want to be everywhere a person makes choices about their health. The traditional pathways have always been through your health plan or your employer, and those continue to remain obviously very important, but we know consumer behavior is changing, and people are engaging in their health and making healthcare decisions in lots of places," Bliss said. "We're intentionally showing up wherever people are making those decisions and choices that impact their health, so whether that's Instacart, where they can make healthier eating choices, or Walmart, where millions of Americans are shopping each week. Helping our members find the care they need is important. It's our goal to make it as simple and as easy to connect with Teladoc in those moments."