Virtual care may be the answer to closing the care gap by enabling better access to care. Accenture defines the concept of virtual care as consumers’ ability to get healthcare services and support to remain healthy, diagnose or treat an illness, or manage an on-going condition, regardless of location or time of day. Consumers are interested in virtual care, especially post-discharge. 74% of consumers are highly interested in using virtual healthcare services for post-hospitalization, follow-up care in one’s own home, according to an Accenture study.
To follow-up with patients and members after a hospital stay, healthcare organizations can use technology to conveniently help check-in with patients and ensure patients adhere to the prescribed treatment plan. With a virtual platform, providers can communicate with patients and members in the preferred setting that is most comfortable – typically the individual’s own home. Instead of requiring patients to drive or secure reliable transportation to a medical office or another healthcare setting, healthcare organizations can deliver care via virtual visits. With virtual care, a provider can assess the patient’s progress, address questions in real-time, solve medication reconciliation issues, and reinforce the need for overall adherence. Travel time, transportation expenses, and no-shows are decreased; satisfaction amongst providers, patients / members, and caregivers is increased.
A Harvard Business Review article highlighted how Brigham and Women’s Hospital conducted 600 follow-up visits virtually, freeing up approximately 200 hours for participating providers to see patients. Patient response was positive. 97% of participating patients were satisfied with the experience and 74% felt that the interaction actually improved their relationship with their provider.
The extreme case of virtual care delivery is Mercy Hospital. From its origins as an office in Mercy’s flagship St. Louis hospital in 2006, the Mercy Virtual Care Center now has its own facility and separate existence. Calling itself the “World’s First Facility Dedicated to Telehealth,” the Virtual Care Center is a four-story, 125,000 square-foot building which serves as the cornerstone of Mercy’s virtual care program. Similar to traditional hospitals, the Virtual Care Center has providers and a cafeteria. Care is administered around the clock. However, the center does not have patients inside its physical structure; providers are based at the center whereas patients are elsewhere. Mercy has taken virtual care to the extreme by building a virtual hospital where all providers support patients via remote care.
Healthcare organizations can turn any setting into a virtual care facility by using a virtual platform to deliver follow-up care to discharged patients and members. Minutes or hours which patients (or home health agencies) typically spend in driving to a follow-up appointment are minimized. The patient remains comfortably at home; the provider remains conveniently in their facility. Timely conversations help reduce the risk of readmissions by driving better adherence and overall outcomes. As healthcare organizations strive to be more patient-centric and member-centric, virtual care can help them expand their reach and resonance within their community and improve outcomes in a time- and resource-efficient manner.