Health systems are still struggling to engage patients beyond the hospital setting, with many Americans turning to payer providers and retail healthcare options for convenience. This change is not only disrupting the continuity of care, but is also causing care leaks and undermining the long-term sustainability of traditional health systems.
A Virginia-based provider recently formed a partnership that seeks to address this issue.
VHC Health partnered with virtual medical office HealthTap to boost patient access to on-demand urgent care. Through the partnership, HCV patients can access care from HealthTap doctors through video visits for diagnosis, treatment and prescriptions for common conditions.
The service is designed to expand convenient access to care while reducing unnecessary emergency department visits, while ensuring continuity with HCV’s in-person providers, said HealthTap CEO Sean Mehra.
“VHC Health is solving for 365-day access, filling the gap during evenings, weekends and holidays. By integrating HealthTap, VHC extends its reach directly to the patient’s home, ensuring that when a patient needs care at odd hours, they remain within the VHC ecosystem rather than leaking to an unconnected third party,” he explained.
HealthTap aims to offer a familiar and frictionless experience to patients, he added.
A patient accesses the service directly through VHC’s digital platform whenever they need it. If a patient ends up needing more than a virtual visit, such as an x-ray or a visit to a specialist, HealthTap doctors digitally route that referral directly to HCV providers.
Mehra noted that the financial experience is as deeply integrated as the clinical one. Patients pay their standard copay just as they would for any VHC visit because HealthTap billing is integrated with VHC’s existing payment contracts, meaning there is no confusion about out-of-network costs.
“[Patients] They’re not starting over with a stranger: they’re accessing an extension of their medical home. It is the convenience of technology with the confidence of your local system,” stated Mehra.
VHC is HealthTap’s flagship health system partner with this deep integration model, he noted.
Chris Lane, CEO of VHC, described the collaboration as a comprehensive effort to further improve the patient experience in their health system.
He highlighted VHC’s commitment to increasing access to care and said this partnership establishes the necessary infrastructure to provide a more seamless patient experience.
“As the future of healthcare increasingly focuses on receiving high-quality services from the comfort of home, this collaboration allows patients to virtually access urgent medical care. We specifically sought a partner that has the highest standards, including Joint Commission accreditation for telehealth,” Lane said.
As the collaboration moves forward, he said VHC will track metrics related to patient and provider satisfaction to determine success.
Photo: Evgeniia Siiankovskaia, Getty Images