Virtual care, long touted as the future of healthcare, is finally having its moment.

“It’s unfortunate that it takes a once-in-a-century pandemic to get people to try new things, but once they try it, they find they generally like it,” Rick Abbott, VP of Product and Market Solutions said. 

Between January and August 15, Premera members had more than 600,000 virtual care visits, a 3000% increase over last year. Ninety-four percent were to brick-and-mortar providers, also known as traditional office providers, while the remaining were to vendors specializing in virtual care such as 98point6 and Doctor on Demand. “I expect the utilization of our other solutions—which currently hovers around the 2% rate—to grow,” Rick explained.

“In the past, there was skepticism around quality of care due, in part, to lack of access,” said Josephine Young, Medical Director, Commercial Markets. “Prior to COVID-19, most primary providers had limited availability for virtual visits or did not offer it at all. Now, with most virtual visits occurring with members’ own providers, the confidence in the care has increased. Moreover, by offering members the ability to choose the digital platform and physical setting for the visit, along with a time that is convenient for them, they are actually inviting the doctor ‘into their home’ to partner in shared decision making.”

Factors such as unprecedented convenience, usually low to zero cost to the member, and increased awareness around the brick-and-mortar virtual care option also drove members to this solution. Further proof that members don’t have to be in an office with medical equipment in order to get the care they need.

Virtual care usage peaked in April and has slowly decreased, but it’s still nowhere near what it was pre-pandemic. “We had less than 10,000 virtual care visits during the first two months of the year,” explained Heather Kuta, Sr. Analyst, Health Care Economics. “It clearly shows how little we had before the dramatic increase in those first two months with COVID-19.”

When it became clear there was an increased need for virtual care providers due to COVID-19, Premera expanded access to existing virtual care vendors as well as quickly established contracts with new vendors to meet demand. These actions aligned with Premera’s existing product roadmap, and simply fast forwarded the efforts.

“COVID-19 really pushed us to scrutinize our normal launch processes that can sometimes take a long time because ‘no’ wasn’t an acceptable answer, given our members were in dire need of access to healthcare services,” said Mercy Adams, Manager of Product Implementation.

Virtual care available now
Premera currently offers more than eight ways to connect with a virtual provider, including your regular primary care doctor. Members also have a variety of ways to interact with a medical professional via virtual care, such as text, video or phone. 

Click here to view Premera’s full slate of virtual care options. 

Who is using virtual care and why?
Data shows virtual care cuts across all generations, with Gen Z-ers to Baby Boomers embracing the new technology equally. And customers with chronic conditions are learning to manage their health just as effectively and more conveniently from home. Furthermore, behavioral health accounted for 60% of the brick-and-mortar virtual care visits.

“It shows—not just our ability to be able to provide that level of care to members—but an active community seeking it,” Rick said. “Plus, it informs what we must be able to provide in the coming months and years.”

Looking forward
Ultimately, Premera aims to offer specific levels and types of virtual care options from the provider community that are better aligned with where someone lives, their background, culture, or any specific preferences they might have. From a socio-economic perspective, rural communities suffer from both a lack of providers and a lack of competition. “What’s cool about virtual care is we can bring 50 states worth of providers into one specific area,” Rick said.

Bringing customers that specific level of granularity in their care, no matter where they live, allows Premera to best serve customers—whether in a pandemic or not.

Watch this video to learn about Emily Agerton’s, Sr. Manager, Brand Management, positive experience with virtual care this year when her daughter was injured.

Sheryl Rothmuller is a Senior Corporate Communications Specialist at Premera Blue Cross.