8 things to look for in a virtual care offering

A 2020 report found that 74% of consumers want a single point of contact for their care.¹ While many patients are moving to a virtual care setting, this approach is often episodic and fragmented. 

To ensure your employees get the best care possible, consider the following eight things when you’re looking for a virtual care offering for your workforce. 

1. Comprehensive: What care can the solution deliver virtually? Don’t settle for just urgent care. There are now solutions available that include primary care, behavioral health and more.

 2. Connected: Virtual care cannot completely replace in-person care. Look for a solution that has an established connection to in-person care, so that your workforce has confidence that their care needs can be addressed whether virtually or in-person. It’s also important that the solution offers patients health record portability and offers step-by-step guidance for their care.

3. Reduce vendor complexity: Avoid vendor complexity by finding a solution that includes more than just traditional virtual care. Can the same vendor address behavioral health? Do they have other health and wellness solutions, such as weight loss and smoking cessation programs, that can benefit your workforce? Choose a virtual care solution that connects into the rest of your benefits ecosystem.

4. Relationships: Trust is a must-have component in any patient-provider relationship. A virtual care solution that allows patients to see the same provider again and again fosters trust and increases continuity of care.

5. Convenience and flexibility: Give your workforce the choice of when, where and how they want to get care. Consider the service area of the solution — does it serve all members of your workforce, regardless of geography?

6. Quality care: Help each employee get the personalized care they need by finding a solution with a wide range of services and support from a highly skilled multi-disciplinary care team — and preferably one that employs dedicated virtual care providers. Providers available through the platform should be experienced, board-certified and specially trained in delivering care virtually.

7. Simplicity: Make it as easy as possible for your employees to stay healthy with an accessible digital experience to manage their health on the go. 

8. Lower care costs: Having the right virtual care solution can help lower costs, among other benefits. Virtual care has been shown to reduce ER visits by 12% and urgent care visits by 35%, resulting in a lower total cost of care.²

Optum Virtual Care

If your solution doesn’t offer primary care and behavioral care in addition to episodic care, you are missing out. Here’s what the power of virtual-first care can do for your employees:

• Bring virtual and in-person care together so your employees can get quality care in the way that works best for them.
• Deliver comprehensive and connected primary, urgent and behavioral care that goes well beyond virtual.

By connecting your employees with a comprehensive virtual care solution, they’ll get convenient, simple, seamless access to care 24/7. Learn more about how Optum Virtual Care can help your employees get the care they need, when and where they need it.

Sources: 

1. Consumer Market Report, Huron Consulting Group, 2020. 

2. UnitedHealthcare NA trends.