RE:New WELL divisionThis is exactly what the doctor ordered ( the CloudMD doctor ) , from the July 24 WELL update :
The Company’s plans are to also offer a broad array of patient facing apps and capabilities that empower patients to better manage their health and seek the best care available.
CloudMD and WELL will be playing from the same playbook.
There is an acronym for this DTC, from retiredcf post :
Rise of Consumerism Driving Provider Adoption of DTC Capability. Specifically, one provider at the forum highlighted three primary motivating factors/assumptions for standing up a direct- to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine solution in 2018: (1) virtual visits will be expected by patients by 2020; (2) retail virtual visits will impact local care; and (3) if a DTC option is not provided, another vendor will take market share. This line of thinking highlights the increasing role of the patient as a consumer and the impact this is having on care delivery.
What is noteable is that this has been CloudMD's approach since the begining.