Medical Policy

Mayo Clinic Health System Primary Care On Demand (the “Platform”) is a virtual care platform with the goal is to make high-quality care accessible while practicing responsible medicine. There are some scenarios where we believe the best course of action is to refer a patient to in-person care rather than treat them remotely. Patient health and safety is always our priority.

The following are the most common scenarios where we will NOT treat patients remotely, and will instead refer out to in-person care:

• We don’t treat through the Platform patients seeking ongoing care and prescriptions for some serious chronic conditions, particularly ones that require in-person physical examination or specialty consultation for safe management.
  • These conditions include but are not limited to: conditions requiring controlled substances, Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes, conditions requiring immunosuppressive therapy, patients being actively treated for cancer (including chemotherapy or radiotherapy), patients that have significant immunosuppression (including HIV), oxygen-dependent patients, patients with history of organ transplant or organ failure (including heart failure, kidney failure and liver failure), patients currently hospitalized or in hospice care, and other serious medical conditions requiring specialty care or close monitoring with an in-person provider
• We cannot treat through the Platform anyone who is or may be pregnant.
• We cannot treat through the Platform patients who have sustained animal bites or scratches (including venomous spiders, scorpions and snakes) or patients seeking treatment for an animal related injury.
• We cannot treat through the Platform adults with certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
  • We can both test and treat chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis for adults
  • We cannot treat through the Platform HIV

Patient health and safety is always our priority. While continuing to provide high-quality care, we do have limitations in conditions that we treat through the Platform:

• While we do offer treatment for the following conditions, the clinicians may want testing prior to initiating any treatment. Additionally, we are limited in the number of times a patient can be treated prior to needing referral to in-person care. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • UTI
  • Bacterial Vaginosis and Vaginal Yeast infections
  • Dental Infections
  • Male Urinary symptoms
  • STI

What we do and do not prescribe

Our clinicians can prescribe through the platform most medications to treat acute conditions. There are several types of medications we will not prescribe through the Platform—those that are considered high risk or those that require ongoing physical evaluation.

• We do not prescribe over the Platform controlled substances including:
  • Certain weight loss medications such as phentermine
  • Stimulants for shift work disorder, such as Provigil
  • Anti-anxiety or sedative medications, such as Xanax (Alprazolam), Ambien (Zolpidem), Lunesta (Eszopiclone), and Ativan (Lorazepam)
  • Certain prescription pain relievers and muscle relaxers such as carisoprodol (brand names include Soma and Vanadom), Butalbital, tramadol (brand names include Ultram and Ultracet), gabapentin (brand names include Neurontin and Gralise), or any narcotic medication, such as codeine or hydrocodone
  • High-risk medications that require a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license, or are subject to abuse
  • If you are unsure if a substance is controlled, please see these resources to look up individual drugs: Prescriber’s Digital Reference, U.S. Dept. of Justice DEA Diversion Control Division
• We do no prescribe over the Platform methotrexate or other immunosuppressive medications.