3 trends shaping virtual care strategies

Providing benefits to any workforce, big or small, can be a challenge. Every employee is unique and so are their health care needs and preferences. Virtual care has risen as a viable solution to this conundrum, but how can employers and their advisors ensure their virtual care strategy is scalable to meet the needs of every employee while also contributing to better outcomes and cost savings?

Stop creating strategy piecemeal

Successful virtual care is not transactional. It’s more than putting a doctor on a screen; more than just urgent or episodic care. We know that health concerns – chronic care, mental health and more – don’t exist in silos, and neither should the solutions created to address them.

Let’s look at chronic conditions alone: Nearly 60% of adults live with one chronic condition, and 42% of adults live with multiple. What’s more, individuals living with chronic conditions are more likely to have or develop a mental health condition. In fact, 80% of Teladoc Health’s 2021 bookings were multi-product, demonstrating the need and desire for more comprehensive services.

Related: 3 strategies to curb skyrocketing costs for chronic conditions

Multiple conditions also drive significant health care cost; individuals with three conditions can see average costs skyrocket to over $30,000 a year. The burden of these costs is on employers and health plans, and unfortunately, many are trying to engage multiple point solutions to help members manage these conditions separately. Patients face cognitive overload as they bounce between providers, specialists, labs and apps. As a result, they need their care teams and data to be centralized and accessible. It’s overwhelming for both employers and members, especially knowing consumers prefer to manage their health in a seamless manner.

A consumer study released by Teladoc Health last year found that 69% of people surveyed thought it would be difficult and/or overwhelming to use multiple websites, mobile apps or virtual care platforms to address mental health needs, and thus a single, unified experience is paramount.

One size only fits one

The depth of services provided is just as important as the breadth of services provided.

In addition to providing end-to-end, whole-person virtual care, benefits advisors, employers and health plans need to consider if the solution in place is both personalized and able to address all acuity levels for each individual health care need.

Let’s consider a member engaging for mental health support. An initial assessment will reveal life context and underlying motivations beyond clinical measures. That data gathered from that assessment will provide a recommended path forward while enabling choice and customization. Perhaps the member would prefer and benefit from a self-guided digital program at their own pace with content and tools they can read and use at their convenience. Or perhaps additional intervention is necessary, at which point the member can select a therapist based on personal preferences, and then schedule and attend a virtual appointment. With regular reassessments, members can both track and see how they are doing overtime.

This stepped care model applies to chronic care management, as well. Take, for example, a member newly diagnosed with diabetes. They are not only relying on monitoring and coaching as they learn to live with their new diagnosis, but will also benefit from physician support for determining appropriate medications and adjustments, as well as mental health support for dealing with a potentially life-changing diagnosis.

A stepped-care model will define a clear path to the optimal care and drive engagement. The integrated levels of care within services can scale up or down to ensure members are receiving the right level of care at the right time, whether support from self-care experiences, certified coaches, or licensed clinicians.

Open the digital front door

Primary care has proven to be a key enabler of prevention, wellness and chronic condition management. But despite its promise, recent studies show people are still not engaging with this method of care, which suggests that a different approach to primary care is in order.

Virtual primary care addresses challenges in traditional care and helps fill existing care gaps. Amplifying and accelerating the value of primary care is its ability to provide a continuous relationship with a dedicated primary care physician and care team where members benefit from virtual access to 24/7 urgent care, prevention, screening and ongoing condition management in one experience that is both convenient and highly personalized. The result is better access to convenient, tailored health care that drives high member satisfaction. Because it’s delivered in the digital space, around the clock access, messaging and reminders keep members engaged and on track while enabling them to still be navigated to in-network specialty providers and facilities when necessary.

Embedded in a virtual-first health plan, virtual primary care also offers an alternative for employers and health plans looking to improve outcomes, drive member engagement and lower costs. Virtual-first health plans create a benefit design that is optimized for members who prefer a virtual front door to care. As health care evolves, it’s clear that plan designs focused on virtual care solutions will play a central role in meeting member needs and improving the quality of care.

There is no question that virtual care is now table stakes for your employer clients. Even as we move from pandemic to endemic and employees return to a sense of normalcy, access and continued use of virtual care services will remain part of that norm. It is imperative benefits advisors and employers evolve their virtual care strategies to meet members where they are.

Kelly Bliss is president, US Group Health, at Teladoc Health.