The COVID-19 pandemic made the word “virtual” a part of our everyday lexicon. Many services that were previously done in person—even schools—quickly made the transition to being virtual. Today, our world is forever changed as many services that once were only in-person continue to be virtual due to convenience, accessibility, and technological advancements that enable everything online.
Primary care has also benefited from virtualization of services. According to a study published in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, telehealth offered by primary care physicians rose from 5.3% before the pandemic to 46.2% during it. This increase has continued post-pandemic, with more than 70% of physicians expressing an intention to incorporate at least occasional telehealth into their practice. By utilizing this convenient and cutting-edge approach to healthcare, patients can experience enhanced accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and a more personalized healthcare experience.
Virtual primary care is an approach to healthcare delivery where patients can consult with a primary care physician through video visits. This model prioritizes patient convenience, adapting to their lifestyle needs and overall health status. It offers a comprehensive healthcare solution, integrating mental health support and facilitating access to in-person care through in-network providers when necessary. Embracing telehealth means offering a wide range of services including sick visits, preventive medicine, and management of chronic diseases, virtually.
Convenience and Accessibility
One of the key benefits of virtual primary care is the greater convenience it affords. Telehealth eliminates the need for patients to travel to a clinic and reduces overall wait times. A University of Iowa study of emergency department-based telemedicine shows that some rural hospitals reported an average reduction of six minutes in patient wait times through the implementation of telehealth—and those six minutes are significant in critical time-sensitive conditions. Telehealth tools allow a patient to connect with a care team when they need it from the comfort of their own home or any location with Internet access.
Clinicians gain a great deal of benefit from the telehealth paradigm. They can see a greater number of patients, expand their regional reach, again, reduce wait times, attend to diverse clinical cases, and support preventive care with more frequent health checks. Clinicians can serve a wider reach of patients in rural areas and those with mobility issues, which is essential to improving public health outcomes. And for some patients, virtual care may be the only way they’re able to connect with a provider and it might be the only way the provider can reach those patients.
The ease and convenience of telemedicine can even lead to earlier diagnosis of healthcare issues. Patients can check in more frequently regarding health concerns, which can facilitate early intervention and treatment. When a patient can save time by not traveling or waiting to see a healthcare provider, they may seek medical advice at the first sign of a problem, rather than wait until the issue becomes more serious.
Cost-Effectiveness
Virtual primary care offers economic benefits for both patients and healthcare providers including lower costs, reduction in expenses by eliminating unnecessary trips, and diversion of patients from more expensive care settings like emergency rooms. Cost savings are illustrated in a study investigating non-elderly cancer patients that estimated cost savings with telehealth ranging from $147.40 to $186.10 per visit. The study suggests that telehealth could improve care delivery while potentially reducing financial stress associated with healthcare.
For healthcare providers, virtual primary care can help reduce overhead costs through decreased operating expenses, reduced administrative burden, avoidance of unnecessary healthcare utilization and improved efficiency and productivity. Another study found that telemedicine was more cost effective at $335 per patient/year compared to routine care at $585 per patient/year and on-site care at $1,166 per patient/year for rural pulmonary care. By adopting this cost-effective alternative to in-person primary care, healthcare providers can maintain quality care for patients while sustaining their clinical practices financially.
Addressing Health Needs
Virtual primary care is designed to cater to various health needs, including chronic condition management, acute illness treatment, and preventive care. By leveraging technology and innovative care delivery methods, virtual primary care can provide comprehensive healthcare services that cater to the diverse needs of patients.
By providing patients with access to specialists, educational resources, and support services, virtual primary care can help reduce the burden of chronic and acute conditions and improve health outcomes.
Some conditions that are suited to virtual care include:
- Chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, diabetes, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, migraines, mood disorders, and more.
- Acute illnesses such as nausea, congestion, earaches, sinus infections, and fever.
Virtual primary care can offer prompt diagnosis and treatment, prevention of the spread of contagious diseases by allowing patients to receive care at home, and an efficient approach to acute illness treatment, allowing patients to return to their daily lives with minimal disruption.
Cognitive and Behavioral Care
Virtual primary care has also been instrumental in the field of cognitive care. Cognitive screenings can be conducted in the comfort of the patient’s home, which can yield clearer results, as the patient feels more relaxed at home. Healthcare providers will typically instruct a patient to complete a cognitive assessment in a quiet environment, before they have had coffee, and where there are few distractions. They try to create that setting in the clinic. But when a patient is at home, the patient has more control over the environment and the test can be done conveniently and perhaps more accurately.
Virtual primary care allows for regular monitoring of cognitive function, which is crucial for tracking the progression of cognitive disorders, making interventions as needed, and adjusting treatment as necessary. Diagnostic tools also improve over time when healthcare providers collaborate with patients by gathering baseline information more regularly.
Virtual primary care can also provide support for caregivers of patients with cognitive disorders. Virtual consultations allow the healthcare provider to offer advice and support to caregivers, helping them better manage the challenges of caring for a loved one with a cognitive disorder. They can provide education, connect them to social services, check in on the mental health and stress levels of the caregiver, answer any questions, and take caregiver reports of any changes in the patients daily living and capabilities.
Preventive Care and Wellness
Clinics can also virtually deliver preventive care and wellness services that are key to helping patients maintain their overall health. These can includeservices like routine screenings, health education and diet, reviewing medical history, and nutrition counseling. Through regular check-ins and ongoing support, virtual primary care can promote healthy habits, encourage patients to take an active role in their own health, provide accessibility and comprehensive preventive care, and help patients achieve their health goals.
Virtual Primary Care and Your Healthcare Practice
Incorporating virtual primary care visits into a healthcare practice requires a comprehensive approach, which can include:
- Establishing the needed technology for virtual care delivery.
- Shifting from traditional primary care to a whole-patient approach. This allows the clinician to consider the physical, mental, and emotional needs of the patient as well as social, financial, and cultural contexts in the delivery of care.
- Complying with regulatory requirements. Compliance with HIPAA and other regulatory requirements is vital when offering primary care services. It is important to implement safeguards to protect patient information when using audio or video communication for telehealth services. Other things to think about include obtaining prior authorization for virtual care services, verifying patient identities, and maintaining accurate documentation.
- Balancing virtual and in-person care While virtual care offers many benefits, it is important to recognize that some patients may still require in-person care for certain conditions and procedures. Virtual care can create efficiencies when used for routine check-in, medication management, and monitoring of chronic conditions. In-person care can be used for more complex needs.
- Fostering strong patient-provider relationships It is important for healthcare providers to actively demonstrate that they are listening to their patients’ concerns, providing personalized care plans, and engaging in shared decision-making to foster trust and rapport in the virtual care experience.
Virtual Primary Care Challenges
There are many benefits to virtual primary care, but there are also some challenges that should be taken into consideration to offer the highest quality of patient care. One study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic found that some of the challenges included potential negative impact on communication, lack of internet and digital skills of some patient groups, delays in diagnosis and treatment, efficiency, and ensuring that the care offered is high quality.
Healthcare providers must utilize technology effectively to enhance patient outcomes, while ensuring that the care provided not only meets, but exceeds traditional in-person care. Providers can leverage evidence-based protocols and utilize technology to monitor patient outcomes to ensure that their virtual primary care services are of the highest quality. Many of these challenges can be overcome with good listening, written communication, and providing a personalized care approach.
Finding appropriate virtual testing solutions can also be a challenge. Traditional in-person tests like a blood test or something that involves lab work often require specialized equipment, hands-on examinations, and in-person interaction. This can be difficult to replicate in a virtual setting, but new solutions are emerging every day that can help to bridge this gap.
Once virtual testing has been completed, coordinating lab work and diagnostics can be tricky. For example, in a rural context, healthcare providers must collaborate with local facilities to ensure that patients receive necessary tests and accurate results quickly. Some solutions include partnering with digital diagnostic companies to extend point-of-care lab tests to virtual visits, referring patients to in-person specialists when needed, and ensuring that session notes, test results, and images are shared with specialists for review. During the pandemic we saw examples of organizations creating distribution plans for at-home health tests, to avoid people gathering at clinics and infecting other people. The model has promising implications for many kinds of health tests from at-home virus tests, to reproductive health, and more.
Virtual Primary Care Reimbursements
As more providers are offering telehealth, there have been significant changes in healthcare reimbursement. Healthcare providers need to understand how virtual care services are reimbursed so that the practice is financially sustainable. There are specific guidelines around physician reimbursement for virtual care that insurance companies and government programs set. These guidelines often vary depending on the type of service provided, the location of the patient, and the technology used during the consultation. Healthcare providers need to verify coverage with each patient’s insurance company to ensure accurate billing and reimbursement.
Reimbursement policies are continually changing, especially with the increased adoption of virtual care. It is key to stay informed about the latest developments in telehealth reimbursement if virtual primary care services are offered. Providers must work with insurance companies to ensure coverage for virtual primary care services and understand the differences in coverage between virtual and traditional primary care. It is important to stay updated with insurance policies, obtain prior authorization when necessary, and maintain accurate documentation. Providing patients with clear information about insurance coverage and costs can also help build trust and foster a positive healthcare experience.
The Many Benefits of Telehealth
There are many benefits to offering virtual primary care as part of healthcare delivery. By providing convenient, accessible, cost-effective care that addresses a wide range of health needs, virtual care can transform the way healthcare is managed.
As the healthcare sector continues to grow and transform, patients will undoubtedly benefit from the virtual primary care model. By integrating virtual primary care into their practices, healthcare providers can offer comprehensive and patient-centered care that truly makes a difference in patients’ lives.
About Mike Battista
Mike Battista is the Director of Science and Research at Creyos. His interests and science communication focus on brain health, cognition, and neuropsychological testing. He received his PhD in personality and measurement psychology at Western University in 2010, and has been exploring the intersection of science and technology ever since.