Virtual Healthcare: Dispelling Four Myths And Misconceptions

Despite its ongoing growth, certain misconceptions persist, hindering the full adoption of virtual care. By dispelling these myths, employers can gain a clearer understanding of the benefits, capabilities, and impact virtual care can have across their workforce. Offering virtual health services to your employees enables you to help support positive health outcomes, boost productivity, and provide care options that meet their needs. 

Myth #1: Virtual Healthcare Offers Limited Services

While virtual care is well-suited for handling common conditions like colds, allergies, or rashes, its capabilities extend far beyond minor illnesses. Many healthcare providers now offer virtual care services for more complex needs like chronic disease management, mental health consultations, prenatal care, and post-surgical follow-ups.

Virtual care platforms allow people to receive specialized care remotely, reducing the need for frequent visits to healthcare facilities and enabling timely interventions for a wide range of medical conditions and often earlier prevention. Remote health tracking using devices like fitness trackers and heart rate monitors can further simplify access to ongoing care.

Myth #2: Virtual Healthcare Is More Expensive

By making it simpler to schedule appointments that fit people’s schedules and eliminating the need for commuting, it is easier to make regular appointments for acute issues, chronic concerns, and even preventive care. This helps people get the right care at the right time to unlock their best long-term health and avoid unnecessary emergency room visits that can quickly drive up healthcare costs. At a time when gas and high transportation costs are top worries alongside medical bills, virtual healthcare can provide relief to keep care more affordable.

When virtual care services are readily available, employees can seek medical advice and treatment without taking extended time off work, resulting in fewer sick days and improved overall employee productivity. Implementing this approach can also help reduce costs for your organization and positively impact your bottom line.

Myth #3: Virtual Healthcare Is Less Effective Than In-Person Care

Many people assume a virtual visit can’t accomplish what an in-person visit can. However, virtual healthcare often leads to more engaged and personalized healthcare experiences. Active patient participation is encouraged, since people can conveniently share their medical history, concerns, and questions in settings they choose for their comfort and privacy. This collaborative approach fosters a patient-centered care model, where people feel more empowered to make informed decisions about their health and adhere to their treatment plans.

Virtual care also facilitates continuity of care. By providing remote access to healthcare providers, virtual care allows for seamless follow-up appointments, simpler medication management, and easier care coordination. This continuity helps prevent gaps in care and ensures people receive personalized, ongoing support for their health conditions, increasing health equity for all.

Myth #4: Virtual Healthcare Lacks A Human Touch

One prevalent myth about virtual healthcare is that it lacks the personal connection and human touch provided by traditional in-person visits. Yet in most settings, virtual care platforms leverage the latest in digital healthcare communications to facilitate face-to-face interactions between people and their healthcare providers, allowing for the visual cues and non-verbal communication that build rapport and establish meaningful connections. In addition, the ease of integrating virtual care into busy schedules and conducting appointments from any location creates opportunities for more receptive patient interactions.

Virtual care offered through Anthem’s award-winning Sydney^SM Health app provides 24-7 access to urgent care and daily primary care appointments through video or chat. Whether there is an urgent need, ongoing chronic care concern, a question for a specialist, or even a regular wellness visit, virtual care offers every person access to the healthcare they need.

Virtual healthcare can also serve as an effective complement to in-person care, adding another facet to the doctor-patient relationship. Virtual care can be an alternative to care for a variety of health needs across the limitations of geography and even time, serving as yet another option available to people alongside primary care, urgent care, and emergency rooms to deliver the right care at the right place and time. 

Despite its proven benefits and widespread adoption, virtual care still faces misconceptions that can cause employers to miss out. By understanding its potential, employers can fully embrace the benefits of virtual care, including cost savings and attractive employee benefits. With solutions that seamlessly integrate into their workforce’s daily lives, today's leading organizations are increasingly adopting virtual care as a high-quality addition to their benefit offerings.

Sydney Health is offered through an arrangement with Carelon Digital Platforms, a separate company offering mobile application services on behalf of your health plan. © 2023