Virtual Primary Care with Integrated Behavioral Health Services is Whole Person Care.
In today’s economic and employee benefits environment, Virtual Primary Care (VPC) is rapidly gaining the interest and adoption among health plan leaders and decision-makers seeking to provide comprehensive, quality health care services with greater enabled access and ability to resolve barriers to care due to social determinants of health.
VPC provides this solution and more, accommodating not only fully insured employees, but also under-uninsured workers. This is especially beneficial to the emerging GIG economy as temporary, flexible jobs are now commonplace, and more companies are hiring independent contractors and freelancers as a labor cost-savings alternative to full-time employment.
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With the rise of the GIG economy, an increasing number of Americans are looking to gig work. About 85% of independent workers have recently increased their gig work in the past six months or plan to going forward, according to the 2022 Gig Payments Report published by workforce payments platform Branch and card issuer Marqeta. About 45% said they have done so because of inflation. Another 13% of independent workers surveyed say they plan to take on more gig work to combat rising prices.
VPC is a modern healthcare delivery experience tailored specifically to complex medical realities: the primary care needs of an exploding population coupled with a shortage of primary care physicians, a demand for more convenient access to care, and ever-increasing measures to reduce costs. These challenges are powerfully addressed by VPC, a beneficial evolution of telemedicine that is a true digital health solution.
VPC contributes to health equity missions by resolving disparities through innovation and a unique approach to virtual care. Health equity objectives are being advanced through digital solutions that overcome barriers to care associated with social determinants of health and which specifically impact access, cost, and quality.
As an ideal component of Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC), VPC adapts to insurance plans that meet the Affordable Care Act requirement, which covers preventative medical services that can be purchased as a standalone product or combined with various types of healthcare coverage.
VPC offers a holistic, “whole person” approach to acute and preventative care to achieve optimal employee health. A well-designed benefits plan offering VPC provides comprehensive services, including virtual urgent care, behavioral health, laboratory tests, pharmacy plans, and diagnostic testing. Therefore, this presents an opportunity to enhance condition and care management, reduce exacerbations resulting in lowered cost of care, and to close gaps in coverage, and remove barriers to care.
More American Workers need Access to Behavioral Health Services
One major challenge facing employers and the benefits industry today is a higher demand for behavioral health services. Now, more than ever, Americans are struggling with mental health issues at home and at work that falls under the behavioral health umbrella. The 2022 State of Mental Health in America report confirms the trend that mental health in the U.S. continued to get worse leading into the COVID-19 pandemic.
As stigmas around mental health are subsiding, behavioral health is becoming more accepted and accessed through digital health solutions and as part of the VPC model, connecting patients and mental health providers face-to-face in real-time as part of a “virtual first” approach to care. Furthermore, Employers that support mental health see a return of $4 for every dollar invested in mental health treatment.
Virtual Behavioral Health Integrates with Virtual Primary Care
Many at risk are finding it difficult and costly to access mental health care when needed the most. This demand severely strains clinical resources and reveals a shortage of providers and other vulnerabilities of the behavioral health system. As a result, COVID-19 brought new attention to behavioral health issues, and the pandemic served as a catalyst that recognized a need for a new generation of innovative solutions.
The future of behavioral health is through Virtual Primary Care (VPC): a tech-enabled system in which care teams and specialty physicians collaboratively work together to deliver exceptional, cost-effective quality care whenever and wherever needed – regardless of time or distance. VPC has the capability to go even farther, delivering a relationship-centered version of personalized holistic care with remote-capable services that support a patient’s entire digital healthcare journey, all within a virtual environment.
Virtual Behavioral Health (VBH) securely connects patients with on-demand, online access though a web-based platform to comprehensive care teams, including psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed therapists and counselors. Services include medication management, assessments and screenings, as well as pharmacogenetic testing to ensure the right behavioral health medication is prescribed.
A VBH Solution – Zero Consult, Unlimited Counseling
Recuro understands the challenges and barriers to accessing affordable, quality mental health services, and is dedicated to getting Americans the services they need to address our nation’s mental health crisis, and support for a transition back to pre-pandemic life. Through our best-in-class digital solutions and a virtual primary care approach, we help employers and employees, individuals and families by providing members with zero consult, unlimited 24-hour access to virtual behavioral care support.
For health plans having limited coverage and benefits, the addition of VPC makes sense from quality, cost and access perspectives. We would like to share more on Recuro’s VBH capabilities that our VPC platform brings to payers and their member experience. Please visit www.recurohealth.com or [email protected] for a virtual demo.
About Recuro Health
Recuro has developed a Digital Medical Home™ to lower costs and improve outcomes. Recuro enables easy connectivity to virtual care, including primary and urgent care, behavioral health, at-home lab testing, genomics testing, as well as a suite of supplemental benefits spanning pharmacy, care management, and care navigation all on one platform. Visit www.recurohealth.com to learn more about our virtual solutions.
