Understanding The Shift To Virtual Primary Care

Jun 14,2022

Read Time 3 Minutes

The spread of COVID-19 forced people to look at every aspect of life differently, including healthcare. We needed innovative ways to give and receive care differently, with less exposure. While healthcare had been slow to embrace virtual care, also called telehealth or digital health, the pandemic quickly broke down barriers to adoption and brought about a massive shift in telehealth usage, both in how it is used, and how often. Use of telehealth services has stabilized at 38x higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. This shift signals an industry-wide transition toward a care model that integrates virtual and in-person care. 

Advantages Of Virtual Care

 

Virtual health is becoming more common for a number of reasons, as it can:

  • Increase access to care, especially for underserved populations.
  • Expand the prevalence of recognized standards of care.
  • Reduce patient exposure to disease.
  • Improve the provider-patient relationship.
  • Direct patients to the right care setting based on their need.
  • Provide opportunities for significant long-term cost of care savings.

 

Personalized And Complete Care Support

 

Virtual primary care is a key part of efforts to support hybrid workforces with affordable and convenient access to care. When your employees can easily get the care and information they need at a budget-friendly cost without leaving home or the workplace, they’re more likely to feel confident in that care and less likely to procrastinate about having a doctor’s visit. It’s good for their overall health and has benefits for you as well.


 

What’s Covered With Virtual Care

 

Affordable, comprehensive primary care for overall health. People can conveniently meet with a care team who understands their health goals and creates unique care plans to manage their overall health and chronic conditions. The care team is also available for common health questions. Services include:

  • Preventive care.
  • Wellness check-ins.
  • Lab work.
  • New prescriptions and refills.
  • Specialist referrals.
  • Care management for conditions including asthma, diabetes, and migraines.

On-demand care at low or no cost to your employees. In addition to scheduling primary care visits for wellness check-ins, your employees also have access to 24/7 urgent care visits. They can access the care they need when they need it, while spending less – and less time away from the workplace. Digitally enabled urgent care services include:

  • New prescriptions and refills.
  • Allergic conditions.
  • Addressing 300+ conditions, including fever, sore throat, rash, and urinary tract infections.

Personalized and empowering care experiences. Employees receive personalized insights and recommendations to make more informed decisions about their health. These insights are based on millions of medical records of people like them.

 

Ongoing, supportive engagement. Throughout their healthcare journey, your employees will receive automated provider-led reminders and check-ins, notifications to take proactive action for their health, and continued support and guidance from doctors throughout the network.

 

Smart carriers and providers are revolutionizing care by reducing costs and expanding access to virtual primary care at no or low cost — made possible with cutting-edge technology like our SydneySM Health app.

 

Learn more about telehealth and improving the overall health of families by viewing our on-demand Virtual Primary Care webinar, featuring Staff Vice President for Commercial Product and Virtual Care Kara Ellinger and Hydrogen Health Chief Commercial Officer Brad Kirkpatrick.

 

Sydney Health is offered through an arrangement with Carelon Digital Platforms, a separate company offering mobile application services on behalf of your health plan ©2020-2022. The Virtual Primary Care experience is offered through an arrangement with Hydrogen Health.