New Collaboration to Expand Virtual Female Specialty Care Access

February 16, 2023 - Lifepoint Health and Midi Health announced that they are collaborating to improve virtual specialty care access for older women experiencing symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), menopause is the point in a woman’s life when menstruation no longer occurs, which indicates the end of her reproductive years. The CDC noted that menopause typically occurs when a woman is between 45 and 55 years old.

Lifepoint Health, which includes 62 community hospital campuses, more than 50 rehabilitation and behavioral health hospitals, and more than 200 additional sites of care, is partnering with Midi Health to expand access to specialty women's healthcare virtually.

Midi Health is a comprehensive virtual care clinic that specializes in assisting women who are experiencing midlife hormonal transition. The organization leverages virtual care, along with medications, supplements, lifestyle coaching, and preventative health guidance, to support these women.

“Our collaboration with Midi is part of Lifepoint’s efforts to ensure inclusive care for those we serve and demonstrates our commitment to meeting patients where they are on their health journey,” said Cherie Sibley, RN, acute care service line president of Lifepoint Health, in a press release. “Women face a number of unique health concerns as they age, and Midi helps virtually connect them with skilled providers who can deliver the specialized care they need to navigate the post-childbearing years. We are excited about this new relationship and look forward to how our collaboration will further advance our mission of making communities healthier.”

Midi will work with Lifepoint hospitals through this collaboration, providing access to clinicians trained in women's midlife health, convenient telehealth resources, holistic care plans, and in-network insurance coverage with clear self-pay options. Midi can direct patients back to their Lifepoint providers for in-person care, including screenings and surgeries. 

“We are committed to bringing cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions that are traditionally only found in Silicon Valley or at large academic medical centers to our community-based facilities across the country,” said Jessie Beegle, senior vice president and chief innovation officer of Lifepoint Health, in a press release. “Lifepoint is pleased to support this important segment of women’s health, and we look forward to expanding specialty care offerings through Midi to better care for women as they age.”

Increasingly, provider organizations are implementing digital health tools to boost access to specialty care and seeing success.

In October 2022, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania assessed a program that aimed to promote access to fertility care through telehealth.

Launched in 2021, the Fast Track to Fertility Program aimed to boost care access for patients struggling to conceive by providing telehealth consultations for new patients and an artificial intelligence (AI)-based text messaging system to guide them through their initial examinations.

Following the assessment, researchers found that the program helped increase the number of patients served, lower wait times, reduce no-show rates, and raise patient satisfaction.