The idea of virtual healthcare isn’t a novel concept, but access to whole-person care through a virtual front-door is the transformation that we’ve been leading for more than 20 years. Today, I’m proud to say one in four Americans have access to virtual care options through Teladoc Health. We are providing comprehensive whole-person care around the globe, ranging from primary care to mental health and chronic condition care, and we will continue to lead in shaping the future of healthcare well into the decade and beyond.
At Teladoc Health, we are committed to delivering a healthcare landscape where virtual care is the first step on any healthcare journey. Our primary care experience, Primary360, is an exciting leap forward in this journey, opening a truly innovative new model of healthcare delivery for all people, not one problem or population.
Why tackle the primary care experience? Currently, we know that four out of five working adults don’t have a strong relationship with a primary care physician because the traditional experience doesn’t meet their needs. In addition to inconvenience, the visits are many times short and transactional, without transparency on cost and quality of the service. These are the circumstances that set up why a new virtual primary care experience and whole-person care are needed more than ever, with data showing chronic conditions will continue to rise all while the population struggles with mental health challenges. Too often, those with chronic conditions are treated in a siloed manner, failing to connect the dots between their overall well-being and their health.
Teladoc Health is transforming this model. Our Primary360 experience allows individuals to select a primary care physician that fits their unique needs and visits for new members are available in a matter of days — not weeks or months as is the case in some traditional delivery models. The first visit is comprehensive, averaging more than 50 minutes, and ongoing care is focused on treating the whole person’s health – not just easing moment-in-time symptoms. In fact, upwards of 25% of Primary360 members with diabetes or hypertension are newly diagnosed through their primary care experience.
The Primary360 experience uniquely makes it easy for a member to navigate the healthcare ecosystem. To deliver truly longitudinal care, doctors and care teams are empowered to provide connected care including referrals to other services like health coaching and mental health therapy, or to community providers and specialists when in-person services are needed. And we are addressing the “last mile” of healthcare, launching innovative partnerships to bring more healthcare products and services — such as physician exams, blood draws, testing kits and prescription medication — right into consumers’ homes. Behind the scenes, our engineers and data scientists work together to turn our two billion data points from an array of sources into insights that enable our clinicians and systems to provide coordinated care across the spectrum from acute and chronic care to mental and physical care, hospital and home.
There are strong signs the healthcare industry is ready for this change. In the early years of virtual care, reimbursement and technology challenges bogged down hospitals and health systems in their efforts to launch wide-scale, integrated telehealth programs. Today, there is more support than ever among payers and employers to pay for virtual care and greater integration of telehealth technology and data into the overall healthcare system. And never have we seen such a surge in consumer interest. In fact, in a recent survey we conducted, more than 60% of consumers said they would be interested in a virtual first health plan.
Given this great acceptance of virtual care, it’s clear the future is where virtual care is consumers’ first entry point into healthcare — connecting consumers to a whole-person primary care experience seamlessly. Together we will promote a more holistic healthcare ecosystem, leading to better care and outcomes for individuals and populations.
