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May 30, 2023
Primary care doctors are trained to care for their patients' overall health—helping them with preventive screenings, tracking their health over time and referring them to specialty care if needed. The importance of primary care is well documented: People using a primary care provider (PCP) experience better health outcomes, lower incidence of premature death and lower overall health care costs. Every dollar invested in primary care saves an estimated $13 in downstream specialty, ER and inpatient care.¹ Similarly, according to the World Health Organization, each dollar invested in treating depression and anxiety saves an estimated $4 in downstream mental health care costs.
Yet there's a disconnect between primary care's advantages and utilization: A 2020 national study among commercially insured adults showed a 24% decline in PCP office visits between 2008 and 2016, and an increase from 38% to 46% in adults with no PCP office visits.² A major factor in these declines is that access can be challenging, with wait times for seeing a new provider averaging 26 days.³
Virtual Primary Care (VPC) from Doctor On Demand makes accessing primary care easier: scheduling appointments is faster and wait times are shorter. Doctor On Demand offers 24/7 access to high-quality urgent, primary and specialty care integrated with behavioral health. Its network enables 24/7 access to licensed doctors from almost anywhere with high-speed internet access.
VPC delivered by Doctor On Demand physicians meets the same needs as in-person primary care, from routine prevention to non-urgent concerns. Members can meet virtually with a PCP, schedule annual wellness exams and screenings, get a diagnosis or treatment plan for a chronic condition, and get prescriptions sent to their pharmacy of choice.
In addition, Doctor On Demand VPC integrates behavioral health: VPC doctors are trained to identify anxiety and depression, and refer patients directly to virtual therapists and psychiatrists.
Doctor On Demand's advanced technology can reach the following categories of members and prompt them to seek care at the right time: High spenders who don't have a PCP; members with care gaps and chronic illnesses; those with a behavioral health need; and all others without a PCP.
Doctor On Demand's dedicated PCPs and their integrated team of behavioral health specialists are delivering a seamless experience to members. And that's producing positive results:
- 63% of patients intending to visit the ER were redirected to more appropriate sites of care or self-care.
- Blood pressure and A1C (blood sugar) measures improved significantly.
- 83% of patients experienced improved depression symptoms after eight therapy visits.
- VPC earned a 4.9 out of 5.0 member satisfaction score.
If your groups aren't currently using Doctor On Demand's VPC service to increase primary care utilization, improve preventive care engagement and lower their overall health care costs, share this flyer with them and ask your account representative how to get started.
- Oregon.gov Patient Centered Primary Care Home Program; 2. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2020; 3. Merritt Hawkins, 2022.