Virtual care: A personalized support throughout the cancer journey

In the complex ecosystem of employee benefits, cancer stands out. Cancer is now the leading driver of medical costs for employers in the U.S, and these higher costs are prompting employers to find new health care solutions to support their employees. For employees, cancer is complex, fraught, and deeply personal. Breast cancer, impacting 1 in 8 women during their lifetime, is one of the most common cancers among women and contributes to increased employer costs.

Start with virtual care

No two cancer journeys are alike—some last months while others take years. Accurate information is needed to help inform decisions that occur throughout the cancer journey and assuage the feelings of anxiety and worry. Whether it’s a co-worker, spouse, or caregiver feeling the impact of cancer, support exists for their unique journey. That support can be fast, convenient, consistent, and most importantly, high quality when leveraging virtual care technology.

Having cancer no longer means carrying the burden of the unknown: virtual care can help patients navigate the health care system, connect to leading specialists for answers, and access the personalized care they need.

Typically, employers provide membership in a virtual care network as an employee benefit. For a member facing cancer, here’s how it works:

• Answers to any health question. As members, employees and their families can ask any health question at any point in their cancer journey, from “What type of oncologist should I see for my cancer?” and “Will breast cancer treatment affect my fertility?” to “What side effects of treatment should I anticipate?” and “What dietary changes should I make to ameliorate the impact of treatment?”
• Physician-led navigation and ongoing support. Members are connected with a compassionate physician who provides personalized support throughout their cancer journey. Members and their families are guided through the complexities of the health care system to the medical guidance they need and the right specialists for their unique diagnosis.
• Accelerated access to leading specialists. It can take up to 47 days to see a specialist in-person, but with virtual care, members can connect to the right specialist in a matter of hours or days. In addition, members can access leading specialists and subspecialists from anywhere in the country.
• Ongoing guidance, coordinated care, and deeper relationships. Virtual care makes follow-up easy, allowing members to keep asking questions, weigh their options, and form a true partnership with their physicians. This access also facilitates coordination between different specialists, ensuring a holistic approach to care.

Personalized cancer support

Virtual care puts members at the center of every interaction, providing them with personalized information and education throughout the cancer journey—from initial screening through diagnosis and treatment. And since the virtual care team knows their patients so well, they can seamlessly recommend appropriate clinical trials and they can help with any questions, decisions, or inflection points that emerge during longer term monitoring.

Virtual care offers guidance and support across the entire cancer journey, and members reap many benefits:

• More time and attention. When members have the undivided attention of a specialist, they get all their questions answered, understand their options, and feel empowered to take action. At the virtual care company I work for, our members report 97% satisfaction for our ability to provide quality access to the right oncologists, whether that’s a radiation oncologist or surgical oncologist or some other subspecialist.
• Education and decision guidance. Specialists provide tailored information and guidance to each member and their unique cancer journey, helping members make informed decisions about treatment—and assuaging feelings of anxiety. As many as 98% of our members indicate that they have a better understanding of their condition—and their choices—as a result.
• Changes in treatment paths. When members have the right specialists and get the right information, they are empowered to make the right decisions about treatment. Positive changes in treatment paths result in better outcomes, and for our members with cancer, 73% indicate that they have made changes in their treatment path, demonstrating the meaningful impact of virtual care.
• Human connection when it is needed most. Members feel empowered not only by the guidance they receive, but by the feeling of having a team that will stay with them as they manage the challenges of living with cancer, be it during spread, remission, or recurrence. Members know they are heard—and that someone really cares about them. We often hear comments like “I’m relieved to be through the “worst” of this and cannot thank you all enough for the support!” and “I had a fantastic call with the doctor and will be setting up another one!” from our members.

Related: Virtual health care investments on the rise, study finds

Employer commitment and care

The help that virtual care provides in navigating the health care system, coupled with fast, convenient, access to specialists for personalized support can revolutionize the way employees manage cancer treatment and decisions. Employers offering virtual care benefit not only from reduced costs, but from the positive message of commitment, care, and support they provide their employees in the moments when they need it most. Virtual care for cancer journeys contributes to a more supportive, productive, and stronger workforce.

Mary Mulcare, MD, FACEP, Summus Chief Medical Officer