Health systems still struggle to engage patients beyond the hospital setting, with many Americans turning to fee-for-service and retail health care options for convenience. This shift not only disrupts the continuity of care, but also leads to leakage of care and compromises the long-term viability of traditional health systems.
A Virginia-based provider recently entered into a partnership aimed at solving this problem.
VHC Health has partnered with virtual medical practice HealthTap to improve patient access to on-demand emergency care. Through this partnership, HCV patients can access care from HealthTap doctors via video visits for diagnosis, treatment and prescriptions for common conditions.
The service is designed to expand convenient access to care while reducing unnecessary emergency room visits, while providing continuity with in-person HCV providers, noted HealthTap CEO Sean Mehra.
“VHC Health offers 365-day access, filling the gaps on 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 an odd hour, they remain within the VHC ecosystem rather than going to a disjointed third party,” he explained.
HealthTap aims to provide a seamless and familiar experience for patients, he added.
A patient accesses the service directly through VHC’s digital platform whenever they need it. If a patient needs more than a virtual consultation, such as an X-ray or a visit to a specialist, HealthTap physicians digitally route that referral directly to HCV providers.
Mehra emphasized that the financial experience is as deeply integrated as the clinical experience. Patients pay their standard co-pay as they would for any HCV visit, because HealthTap billing is integrated with HCV’s existing payer contracts, meaning there is no confusion over out-of-network costs.
“[Patients] don’t start again with a stranger – they gain access to an extension of their medical practice. It’s the convenience of technology with the trust of their local system,” Mehra said.
VHC is HealthTap’s flagship health system partner with this deep integration model, he noted.
VHC CEO Chris Lane described the collaboration as a comprehensive effort to further improve the patient experience in its health system.
He highlighted VHC’s commitment to increasing access to care and said this partnership establishes the infrastructure needed to provide a smoother patient experience.
“As the future of healthcare is increasingly focused on receiving high-quality services from the comfort of home, this collaboration allows patients to access urgent medical care virtually. We were specifically looking for a partner that met the highest standards, including Joint Commission accreditation for telehealth,” Lane remarked.
As the collaboration continues, he said VHC will track metrics related to patient and provider satisfaction to determine success.
Photo: Evgenia Siiankovskaia, Getty Images
