If there is a silver lining to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is that it focuses on the role of value-based virtual healthcare models to address issues such as access to experts, the speed and efficiency of healthcare, and healthcare inequality.
Indeed, approximately In a recent survey, 75% of employers Expressing that they plan to strengthen the implementation of value-based care models in the next three years, many people said they are exploring virtual care partnerships, including:
- Match members with experts that best suit their medical needs-not just local;
- Provide faster and more effective care and improve the patient experience; and
- Reduce differences in care that affect ethnic minorities and social minorities.
Employers are seeking such assistance, which makes health plans responsible for doing more than just providing virtual doctor visits as part of their benefits plan. The most successful plan will stand out by implementing three key strategies to establish successful, value-based, virtual partnerships with suppliers, employers, and consumers.
Competitive programs will provide access to a wide range of experts.
In view of the growing interest shown by professional providers in virtual visits, health plans should ensure that their telemedicine products include consumers with a wide range of experts.As the 2020 pandemic spreads, this trend has soared, and some experts have increased the number of virtual visits From 20% to more than 90%, Especially those whose patient population is beyond the borders of the United States.
With the increase of virtual expert products, the second opinion market for healthcare is also soaring and is expected to reach Will reach US$7 billion by 2024, Higher than 2017’s 2.7 billion U.S. dollars. According to a recent study, 28% of patients change their diagnosis when they receive a second opinion on a life-changing diagnosis such as cancer. Moreover, 72% of the treatment plans were revised after expert review. These figures emphasize the importance of virtual access to global expertise, as local expertise in rare or particularly complex emerging professions (such as sex reassignment surgery) is in short supply.
Finally, competitive plans and providers will also be the focus of providing virtual access to behavioral healthcare and experts. Acute behavioral health issues such as depression drive some of the biggest demands of medical insurance companies and their associated costs; pandemics will only exacerbate this demand.according to Deloitte, During the four-month period in March and July 2020, the proportion of people reporting the negative impact of Covid-19 on behavioral health rose from 32% to 53%.
Therefore, payers and providers are designing innovative methods to virtually address mental health needs. For example, a hospital in Florida has begun using virtual “tele psychiatry” services to reduce the burden on psychiatrists caring for behavioral health patients in hospitals and emergency departments (ED). As a result, the hospital has shortened its average ED response time from more than 24 hours to less than 30 minutes; reduced the average time to transfer out of the emergency room to less than 4 hours, and conducted more than 220 remote psychiatric consultations every month.
Competitive programs will provide faster insight and a higher quality membership experience.
In this nascent world of virtual healthcare services, the most competitive health plans and providers will make it their mission to increase speed and efficiency and improve patient experience. This means reducing the waiting time for appointments, especially appointments with experts; ensuring quick and easy access to second opinions; ensuring quick test arrangements-and the same rapid turnaround of results; and timely follow-up consultations with providers.
To this end, the plan must determine the answers to the following questions:
- What tools do we need to make virtual care for members and doctors flexible and easy to use?
- How quickly can we adapt to telemedicine appointments — and what types of investments and workflows do we need to speed up access to medical services?
- What training do our doctors need to receive to attract patients and provide the best virtual care experience?
- What support do we need, especially on the front end of the encounter, to promote the speed of insight?
Competitive plans will use virtual care to eliminate care gaps
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly revealed Health care inequality This situation persists in ethnic minorities and other underserved communities, which are disproportionately affected by the disease. Many people living in rural or poor areas of the country, people with chronic diseases, and patients in the LGBTQ+ community cannot always get expert help. Health plans should focus on developing partnerships to provide the telemedicine services needed to meet the needs of these populations. For example, at least one health plan is developing a plan to make it easier for the LBGTQ+ community to obtain experts in transgender health and gender identity surgery.
in conclusion
If the Coivid-19 pandemic brings any benefits, then the value-based virtual healthcare model can play an important role in addressing issues such as access to healthcare, the speed and efficiency of healthcare, and healthcare inequality.
Employers are increasingly seeking virtual care partnerships to help them achieve these goals, which can reduce their own health insurance costs and help their employees get the level of care they expect and deserve.
Health plans that use telemedicine to provide a wider range of expert access, faster insights, higher-quality experiences, and better solutions to eliminate differences in care will be in the development of a successful, value-based virtual with suppliers, employers, and consumers To establish partnerships.
Photo: Gerasimov174, Getty Images
