What Is Virtual Health
The world of healthcare is one that is always changing. Healthcare providers are constantly creating more and more ways to stay on the cutting edge as technology advances. One very beneficial recent advancements is the invention and application of virtual health care (or telehealth/telemedicine). Simply put, this is a method in which healthcare providers communicate with patients without physically seeing them in their practice. It is extremely beneficial for those who are without immediate access to healthcare professionals or are too busy to visit the doctor’s office to seek medical help for an assessment or ongoing medical treatment.
Benefits Of Virtual Health
One of the biggest benefits of virtual health is the convenience it offers patients. No longer do they have to leave work, drive across town, find parking, wait in the reception area, and then do it all again to get back to work. Beyond convenience and time, it also increases access to specialist and reduces costs for employers due to increased hospital admissions. For example, virtual healthcare can help prevent costly downstream events by providing accessibility for early prevention and removing delay in care of a medical issue. According to the World Health Organization, 80% of chronic illness can be eliminated with early prevention. Virtual Health has shown to increase doctors visit, help illness prevention and prove to be more cost-effective.
Benefits of Offering Virtual Health
Despite the growth of virtual health and telehealth, less than 10% of companies have adopted the technology into their benefits plans. In contrast to these numbers, over two-thirds of employees say they would use the benefit if it was available and 71% are looking for increased access to a healthcare professional—something that virtual health makes much much easier. It is widely understood that work-life balance is crucial for retaining and attracting top-level talent and so it’s no wonder that we are seeing more and more companies that work with BenefitDeck add this benefit to their plan. As the technology increases in popularity, benefits plans will need to adapt to accommodate virtual health. Are you ready?
Give us a call or email us if you have more questions about your benefits and virtual health.
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