Turning up the volume on digital health in 2021 and beyond

Employers are on a mission to boost their telehealth benefits in 2021, as consumer demand for virtual care remains strong more than one year into the coronavirus pandemic.

Neary 9 in 10 employers say they already offer telemedicine through their insurance carrier, one recent survey shows. To stay competitive, simply offering access to virtual care will no longer be a value differentiator. Since consumers are also savvier about virtual care in a post-COVID world, employers must also ensure that digital health experiences are as seamless as mobile banking or using Instacart.

So how can an employer ensure that its telehealth strategy cuts through the noise and engages their workforce? And — perhaps more important — how can employers make sure their virtual approach effectively meets every worker’s healthcare needs?

Read more: Using telehealth to respond to coronavirus concerns

These are the kinds of questions that employers will need to think about in 2021 as they begin to craft long-term plans for rolling out new virtual care benefits or expanding existing ones.

What the workforce is clamoring for
If we asked American workers what they wanted, healthcare-wise, in 2019, their answers might be different than those they would give today. In fact, 81% of consumers believe the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way they receive healthcare.

Yet workers of all generations have always voiced a preference for health benefits that are flexible, convenient, and offer unlimited access to care. J.D. Power’s second annual Telehealth Satisfaction Study, released in October, noted the top reason for using telehealth is still convenience, cited by 51 percent of survey respondents.

But beyond convenience, the reasons consumers are turning to virtual benefits vary.

In forecasting intended virtual care utilization from 2019 to 2023, a recent employer survey by Business Group on Healthsuggests virtual care for musculoskeletal management shows the greatest growth potential.

The demand for virtual behavioral health is also growing, telehealth vendors reporting record-high uptake of virtual behavioral health visits in 2020 among individuals in all age brackets. According to Amwell, the leading provider of telehealth, telehealth adoption in psychiatry was 80% pre-COVID and jumped to 96% in 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic.

The demand for virtual second opinions for clinically complex conditions (e.g., certain kinds of cancer or heart issues) is also growing as more consumers become aware of the benefits, including access to leading medical experts in their respective specialties, many with decades of research and experience under their belts. Normally, access to leading medical experts is contingent on proximity — but through telehealth, geographical differences are no longer a barrier.

Moving forward, employers will need to raise the bar to effectively engage their workforce in virtual care, a move that could optimize outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

Here are three virtual benefits employers should consider implementing or expanding:

• Condition-specific virtual coaching: Virtual coaching is one of the bigger trends that emerged from 2020, with a growing number of employers leveraging financial, health, and wellness coaching programs.

Willis Towers Watson’s 2020 Health Care Delivery Survey found that a growing number of employers have implemented third-party virtual coaching solutions for mental and behavioral health (51%), metabolic syndrome and diabetes (37%), maternity care (29%), and other conditions — so it’s definitely catching on. But when adding any kind of program, including health coaching, organizations should consider the real-life needs of their workforce (e.g., mental-health counseling for healthcare professionals) and how likely members are to engage with coaches.

• Virtual chronic care: Until recently, many individuals with multiple comorbidities, including homebound seniors, didn’t recognize the value of virtual encounters. CMS’ Chronic Care Management (CCM) benefit — which reimbursed providers for non-face-to-face encounters — took a few years to catch on, as there was some pushback among providers and patients.

But with the pandemic, the mindset shift around virtual care’s value has changed. Individuals with chronic comorbidities, including chronic mental illnesses, are more eager to engage with healthcare providers from a remote location, through video-based consultations or email/messenger-based chats. Telehealth can help those with diabetes stay on track with their nutrition guidelines or ensure those recovering from substance-use disorders have ongoing, on-demand access to therapists, for example.

• Virtual second opinions: According to a study by BMJ Quality & Safety, 12 million adults in the U.S. are misdiagnosed every year, and half of these misdiagnoses could be potentially harmful. This isn’t so surprising when one considers the culture of medicine: High patient volumes, coupled with strains on clinical resources, can lead to missed opportunities to make a correct or timely diagnosis. A virtual second opinion offering, which enables access to leading medical experts who are highly experienced in their condition, regardless of time or place, will help consumers get the best medical insights — and the best outcomes.

The door to virtual care was swung wide open in 2020, and it promises to become a permanent fixture in care delivery. The good news is that remote options, when optimized alongside the right strategy, have far-reaching potential to transform outcomes and costs. Employers that redirect their efforts to enhancing virtual care and engaging employees in the right offerings — namely virtual coaching, chronic care and second opinions — stand to save millions in unnecessary healthcare costs down the line.