Jun 27, 2024
5 surprising facts about virtual primary care
Why some patients are turning to app and video for their health care
Innovative virtual care providers are meeting patients’ urgent health care needs, amid a scarcity of primary care physicians nationwide, according to clinicians.
“We believe primary care is the foundation of good health, so we want to do all we can to make sure our members have access to high-quality, affordable primary care,” said Dr. Ben Kruskal, a physician who is a medical director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest not-for-profit health plan.
Health plans including Blue Cross are growing their network with providers such as Carbon Health and Firefly Health, which offers care through an app or in person as necessary. Blue Cross provides eligible members with virtual visits with no out-of-pocket charge.
What is virtually enabled primary care?
Virtual providers typically offer patients access to a team of clinicians who provide comprehensive primary care and mental health visits via secure apps that offer video and other capabilities – and in-person care as needed.
Those services can help fill a gap created by a PCP shortage that has left many Americans struggling to get care or waiting months to see a doctor, with many turning to the ER or foregoing care altogether in recent years.
Kruskal, who often meets with his own PCP virtually, highlights five key points about virtual primary care:
1. Annual exams can be done by video
An annual “physical” is something of a misnomer, Kruskal said, because providers glean most of the important information by taking a careful history, which can be discussed just as well via video as in person. “Eighty to ninety percent of diagnoses are made based primarily on a person’s history, with a physical exam and testing providing the answer in a smaller number of cases. In addition, a surprising amount of physical exam information can be gathered in a video visit, much of it by looking at symptoms such as a rash or listening to a cough.”
Much of the value of an annual wellness visit, Kruskal said, is that it gives patients and providers the opportunity to discuss and manage chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma and address lower urgency problems for which someone might not make a separate visit.
2. If you have a virtual PCP, you can still get in-person care as needed
Virtual primary care providers have large networks of labs, urgent care centers and specialists available. If you have a specific concern that needs to be addressed in person, the virtual care team will help you find a suitable local clinician.
“All virtual practices will work to help you find the most appropriate face-to-face care when needed,” Kruskal said.
3. Health care provided by virtual PCPs is as effective as in-person care, researchers are finding
Recent studies show that the care a person receives virtually is just as good as the care they receive in person.
For example, a study of more than a half-million patients found telemedicine “was associated with significantly better performance or no difference” compared with in-person care in a wide variety of health care quality measures.
The study, published in 2022 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggested telemedicine “has potential to suitably augment care capacity” -- in other words, amid a shortage of primary care physicians, it is a valuable tool.
4. Patients report building strong relationships with PCPs via video
“Being on video with your doctor is really not that different than sitting face-to-face with them,” said Kruskal, who has found establishing trust with a PCP can be done just as effectively via video as it can in person.
He points to research showing high patient satisfaction among those who have had virtual mental health visits.
A 2022 study found “Patients gave high ratings to virtual treatment and indicated a preference for virtual formats. Both patient and clinician preference for virtual visits increased significantly with time, and many clinicians perceived virtual services to be equally effective to in-person.”
5. Virtually enabled PCPs offer some unique advantages to students and others
“We believe there is a real opportunity now for virtual primary care not only to address the shortage of providers but actually to enhance the whole way that care is being delivered,” Kruskal said.
In addition to greater convenience, no travel time or parking costs, Kruskal said virtual practices often provide greater care coordination, chronic condition management and integrated mental health services than brick-and-mortar practices. For instance, many of these practices have a nutritionist on staff who can educate patients about the best foods to eat to manage their chronic conditions.
Virtual primary care also can help improve access to care because practices can spread a pool of qualified practitioners evenly across the country and can easily meet demand in different geographic locations.
“They also can offer a greater diversity of clinicians to more accurately reflect the diversity of the patients they serve,” Kruskal said.
In addition, Kruskal noted, these practices can be the perfect fit for college students, snowbirds and people who travel for business because their clinicians often are licensed to practice in multiple states.
I know there is still some hesitation among folks. The good news is that virtual primary care is a great option for the vast majority of patients and even offers added benefits,
- Dr. Ben Kruskal said.
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PHOTO OF DR. BEN KRUSKAL BY JIM GOFF