Stay informed!

For the second year in a row, the analysts at Deloitte have identified telemedicine as a current trend that is shaping the future of healthcare. Also known as virtual visits, telemedicine is a method of providing clinical care from a distance, through the use of telecommunications and information technologies.

Deloitte’s recently released report, 2019 Global Health Care Outlook: Shaping the Future, talked about the imperative to use new care delivery models in ways that improve access to and affordability of care. Telemedicine does just that. It offers the industry a means toward sustainability under value-based care models, by providing the right level of care at the right time.

A Deloitte survey found that both healthcare consumers and physicians agree on the benefits of virtual care.

• From the provider’s perspective, 66 percent said the top benefit is improved patient access.
• The majority of consumers (64 percent) rated convenience and access as top reasons for using telemedicine.
• Over half (57 percent) of the consumers who had never used telemedicine said they were willing to try it in the future.

At EBMS, we’d like to add our own voice to this important discussion. As a third-party administrator of self-funded plans, the need to develop new care delivery models is not only clear to us, it is part of our mission. That’s why we’ve partnered with WellVia to offer a dynamic telehealth solution.

“Our members are extremely satisfied with WellVia,” says Dr. Andrew Murray, chief medical officer at EBMS. “And our plan sponsors find it boosts plan performance in several important ways – like reducing unnecessary ER visits, and supporting members who are self-managing a chronic condition.”

Our WellVia Success Story

In 2018, our employer groups had fantastic results with our WellVia solution! The average response time for a member to speak with a doctor was less than 10 minutes. And the savings realized by plan sponsors and members was over $80,000.

Even better, we’re on track to exceed those results in 2019. With a growing number of members using our telehealth solution, we project that savings will pass the $1million mark by year’s end. We constantly solicit feedback on our solutions, and WellVia has a customer satisfaction rating of over 96 percent.

Is WellVia Right for You?

If you are self-funding an employee benefit plan, there is very little downside to offering telehealth services. The key is to educate your members about how and when they might benefit from a virtual visit – so they actually use the service.

However, we suggest using the data analytics and reporting capabilities within our miInsights solution to support decision-making. These tools will give you a clear picture of your member population and plan performance, and allow you to compare your statistics to national benchmarks. Once you identify trends, you may be able to improve care quality and better contain costs by adding WellVia to your plan. Get started by talking to your account manager today!