VHC Health turns to HealthTap to curb patient leakage and improve patient experience
Health systems are still struggling to attract patients outside of hospitals, with many Americans turning to paid services and retail health care options out of convenience. This shift not only disrupts continuity of care, but also results in loss of care and undermines the long-term sustainability of traditional health systems.
A provider in Virginia recently formed a partnership to address this issue.
VHC Health partners with HealthTap, a virtual physician clinic, to increase patient access to on-demand urgent care. Through this partnership, VHC patients can receive care from HealthTap physicians via video visits for diagnosis, treatment and prescriptions for common conditions.
HealthTap CEO Sean Mehra noted that the service is designed to expand access to care while reducing unnecessary emergency department visits while ensuring continuity with VHC on-site providers.
“VHC Health is solving the 365-day access problem, filling the gaps during evenings, weekends and holidays. By integrating HealthTap, VHC is extending its reach directly into patients' homes, ensuring that when patients need care during odd hours, they stay within the VHC ecosystem rather than being leaked to disjointed third parties,” he explained.
HealthTap is designed to provide a smooth and familiar experience for patients, he added.
Patients can access the service directly through VHC's digital platform when they need it. If a patient ends up needing more than a virtual consultation, such as an X-ray or specialist visit, HealthTap doctors digitally send a referral directly back to the VHC's provider.
Mehra noted that the financial experience is as deeply integrated as the clinical experience. Patients pay a standard copay just like any VHC visit, and because HealthTap's billing is integrated with VHC's existing payer contracts, there's no confusion about out-of-network charges.
“[Patients] They're not starting over with a stranger—they're visiting an extension of their medical home. It’s the convenience of technology and the trust of local systems,” Mehra declared.
He noted that VHC is HealthTap's flagship health system partner with this deep integration model.
VHC CEO Chris Lane described the partnership as a comprehensive effort to further enhance the patient experience at his healthcare system.
He emphasized VHC's commitment to increasing access to care and said this partnership builds the infrastructure needed to provide a more seamless patient experience.
“As the future of healthcare increasingly focuses on receiving high-quality services in the comfort of their own homes, this collaboration enables patients to access urgent medical care virtually. We are specifically looking for partners who meet the highest standards, including Joint Commission certification for telemedicine,” commented Lane.
As the collaboration proceeds, VHC will track metrics related to patient and provider satisfaction to determine success, he said.
Photo: Evgeniia Siiankovskaia, Getty Images
