business

UnitedHealth Group is joining the telemedicine movement, launching a service that will allow physicians to see patients in remote sites such as rural health centers, workplace clinics or specially outfitted trucks.

Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth said Wednesday it is investing $100 million with a goal of 200 sites in three years. The clinics will use technology by Cisco Systems and doctors from UnitedHealth's provider network.

UnitedHealth has steadily expanded beyond its core business of insurance. It also manages prescription drug benefits, analyzes claims data, runs clinical trials and employs nurses to manage chronic diseases for members.

Executives said telemedicine is a natural extension. UnitedHealth initially will start six sites, one of the first in an 18-wheel vehicle that will travel around rural New Mexico offering health screenings and treatment for diabetes and other chronic conditions. The client is Project HOPE. Other potential clients include self-insured companies and state health programs.

"It's about moving the care center from fixed bricks-and-mortar institutions to wherever the patient is," said Steve Rodgers, who runs the Connected Care initiative for OptumHealth, UnitedHealth's health and wellness unit.

Telemedicine is starting to take off. Some versions use videoconferencing so a doctor can examine a patient on a large screen; others may prompt patients to answer questions on a touchscreen.

The Mayo Clinic is using telemedicine to monitor employees and their dependents after they've been discharged from a hospital and employees at risk of hospitalization.

Many insurers and government programs already pay for telemedicine. But growth has been hampered by the bandwidth required to convey detailed images. Moreover, physicians are often reluctant to invest in a technology without certain return.

When large companies such as UnitedHealth come in, "telemedicine has to have convinced people that it has substantial value," said Randall Moore, CEO of AmericanTeleCare, Eden Prairie, which began in 1993. "We are at a turning point."

Chen May Yee • 612-673-7434