American Academy of Family Physicians, Zipnosis Announce Strategic Partnership to Provide Virtual Care Solution for Family Physicians

LEAWOOD, Kan. and MINNEAPOLIS, April 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and virtual care technology leader Zipnosis today announced a strategic partnership to provide a virtual health care platform to the AAFP's 129,000 members and their patients.

The virtual care platform provides an online diagnosis and treatment solution that will allow AAFP members to offer their patients convenient access to care by connecting them virtually with their family physician.

This strategic partnership stemmed from the results of a 2017 AAFP member survey designed to identify new programs and services. One of the clear themes that surfaced was the demand for a virtual care service that addresses the unique needs of family physicians.

"Patients today want quick and easy access to health care, but that convenience shouldn't come at the cost of the relationship they have with their family physician," said Steven Waldren, M.D., Director of the AAFP's Alliance for eHealth Innovation. "Offering this new telemedicine platform gives our family physician members another tool through which they can care for patients."

Virtual care is becoming a trusted and convenient solution for primary care physicians to address access challenges in health care. Family physician practices are uniquely suited to leverage the potential virtual solutions offered to supplement in-person care.

"We believe that ensuring family physicians can offer their patients the convenience and access of a virtual care service is critical to maximizing the value of local, personal care by embracing the benefits of today's connected, digital world," said Rebecca Hafner-Fogarty, M.D., senior vice president of policy and strategy at Zipnosis and a member of the AAFP.

The partnership between the AAFP and Zipnosis will give family physicians across the country access to a virtual care platform designed to meet their unique needs and those of their patients. The virtual care platform will offer online adaptive interview technology that allows the patient to provide symptom and health history information for diagnosis and treatment by their physician and real-time video consultations that enable the patient to remotely connect with their physician.

"Forward-thinking organizations such as the AAFP understand the importance of leveraging innovative technology to tackle the current challenges that family physicians and their patients face," said Jon Pearce, CEO of Zipnosis. "By partnering with Zipnosis, they have the technology and resources to allow them to offer their members a virtual care solution that unlocks clinical capacity and improves patients' access to care across the U.S."

The AAFP will offer the virtual care platform to a select group of innovators as part of a pilot designed to help further tailor it to the specific needs of family physicians. The service will be available to all AAFP members later in 2018.

About American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
Founded in 1947, the American Academy of Family Physicians represents 129,000 physicians and medical students nationwide, and it is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Family physicians conduct approximately one in five of the total medical office visits in the United States per year ? more than any other specialty. Family physicians provide comprehensive, evidence-based, and cost-effective care dedicated to improving the health of patients, families and communities. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing and personal patient-physician relationship where the family physician serves as the hub of each patient's integrated care team. More Americans depend on family physicians than on any other medical specialty.

To learn more about the AAFP and family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. Follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, visit the AAFP's award-winning consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.

AAFP Media Contact
Megan Moriarty
[email protected] 
800.274.2237, ext. 5223

About Zipnosis
Zipnosis (www.zipnosis.com) offers health systems a leading virtual care platform that pairs traditional telemedicine with next-generation online virtual care tools to drive exceptional clinical quality, significant clinical efficiency and durable financial returns. A trusted innovator in the industry, Zipnosis pioneered online adaptive interview technology, which is built on a foundation of clinical best practice guidelines. This smart alternative to traditional telemedicine allows providers to diagnose and develop a treatment plan for patients in just two minutes. With Zipnosis' unique platform approach to virtual care, patients can be treated through the online adaptive interview, video and phone, real-time chat or when appropriate, referred to in-person care via the platform's advanced routing capabilities. Based in Minneapolis, MN, Zipnosis helps health systems keep pace with the changing demands of healthcare consumers.

Zipnosis Media Contact
Siobhan Nguyen
[email protected]
617.986.5784

SOURCE Zipnosis