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Health plan members can achieve better health and lower medical costs with primary care, but only if they have adequate access to primary care clinicians. The United States is in the midst of a severe primary care shortage. A recent survey found that primary care appointment wait time is 23.5 days, an increase of 14% over the past three years. One-fifth of the population reports waiting at least two months for a primary care appointment, and wait times will get longer with fewer physicians entering primary care practice. The emergence of virtual care services can improve primary care access for employees, and employers can use the insights of behavioral science to promote virtual care.
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of digital healthcare delivery. Over the past five years there has been an expansion of virtual services across the healthcare continuum, including primary care, chronic condition management, specialty care and mental health. Virtual care requires less employee time away from work and expands access in remote areas while giving minoritized communities better access to concordant providers. Virtual care also generates fewer laboratory and ancillary charges.
6 strategies to enhance virtual care utilization
Employers seeking to expand the use
