September 1, 2022 (Dallas, TX) — SOC Telemed, the largest national provider of specialty acute care telemedicine, announced its acquisition of Forefront Telecare, a leading virtual behavioral health company serving vulnerable adults nationwide across the care continuum. The acquisition significantly expands SOC Telemed’s existing behavioral health offering, provider network, and clinical capabilities. Following the acquisition and reflecting the critical role the company plays in providing access to care nationally, SOC Telemed is renamed Access TeleCare. Forefront Telecare will operate as an Access TeleCare company focused on behavioral health.
Founded in 2004, Access TeleCare pioneered inpatient telemedicine. In the years since, it has grown into the largest national provider of acute care telemedicine, with more than 2,500 active telemedicine programs across 10 medical specialties in hospitals in every state in the country.
“We’ve been working closely with the clinicians and leadership team at Forefront for the last several years. This acquisition takes our existing partnership to the next level and expands our behavioral provider network by over 300%,” said Dr. Chris Gallagher, CEO of Access TeleCare. “Our combined capabilities and reach will allow us to serve more hospitals and more patients with behavioral health needs, delivering on our promise of ensuring every patient has timely access to specialty care, no matter where or when they need care.”
Rob Rebak, CEO of Forefront Telecare, will report to Dr. Gallagher, combining forces to accelerate the growth of the business, as technology and clinical trends continue to encourage adoption of virtual care experiences in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health settings.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 20% of adults, or 50 million people, experienced a behavioral health-related illness, with 27 million going untreated. This number increased 25% globally during the first year of the pandemic.
“The Access TeleCare commitment to improving access to high quality, timely specialty care is unique. It’s not just about the technology. It’s about building a caring relationship with patients and partnering with hospitals, other healthcare facilities, and payers to accomplish their goals,” said Rob Rebak. “By joining forces with the largest provider of acute care telemedicine in this country, we are excited by how much more we will be able to do together to solve the behavioral health crisis facing our country”.
MTS Health Partners, L.P. served as financial advisor and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP served as legal advisor to Forefront Telecare. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Access TeleCare.
About Access TeleCare
The country’s largest provider of acute and specialty telemedicine, Access TeleCare works with hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, home health companies, and physician practices to provide telemedicine services in neurology, behavioral health, hospitalist medicine, pulmonary and critical care, maternal-fetal medicine, infectious disease, cardiology, nephrology, and endocrinology. The company was the first provider of acute clinical telemedicine services to earn The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and has maintained that accreditation every year since its inception. Learn more: AccessTeleCare.com
About Forefront Telecare
Forefront Telecare is a leading provider of virtual behavioral health solutions across the care continuum for seniors and other vulnerable adults. For over ten years, we have provided the highest quality telepsychiatry and teletherapy care for patients in hospitals, long-term care, and home health settings. Our nationwide clinical network consists of a team of over 400 Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, Psychologists, and Licensed Clinical Social Workers that are seamlessly integrated into our technical, operational, and billing telehealth solution. We seek to minimize expenditures for our clients who manage the needs of patients in healthcare facilities, in their homes, or those transitioning from one care setting to the next. We provide psychiatric support services to individuals in need in collaboration with the care teams managing all their other medical needs, focusing on improving quality of care and quality of life. Learn more: ForefrontTelecare.com
