In 2020, the pandemic forced all of us to move to the virtual world more than we ever have before. From working to shopping, school, concerts, movies, and visits with family, so much of our lives went fully virtual. Even before the pandemic, health care was moving online, and COVID-19 has accelerated that transition. Some of us met with our physicians or mental health counsellors online last year.
How will virtual care impact benefit plans?
Virtual care has gone from being regarded as cutting edge and progressive to being mainstream. This means that plan managers and sponsors have had to come to grips with the reality that virtual care needs to be part of their benefit plans. Protecting public safety of health care providers and patients has led to some dramatic shifts in how public health is delivered. Rather than being seen as a problem for plan managers, virtual care actually saves costs because employees can remain safer whereas maintaining social distancing in walk-in clinics or hospitals might be a challenge.
Virtual care is here to stay and will likely become part of standard benefits plans. In the public system, virtual care focuses on primary care. However, in the private sector, virtual care will become applicable in a wide range of services provided by traditional and holistic practitioners. Virtual care offerings are set to grow in demand and variety, and we are only seeing the beginning of this trend.
The goal of employee benefit plans is to help employees stay healthy and productive. Virtual care services will take that goal to the next level. The growth of virtual care means that insurance carriers will adapt to integrate information and data between employees, employers, and providers.
The Opportunity
Virtual care will open up the opportunities for increased tailoring of health care services for employees, as well as increased interaction between employees and their health practitioners. Benefit managers will see the opportunity for employees to maintain a higher level of personal health thanks to the dynamic and responsive integrations between physical and virtual health services.
At Health Risk Services, we work with plan managers to continually adapt their plans to meet the changes, opportunities, and needs of their employees while managing their company budget. We know how to find the best possible solution for both the employees and the employer in crafting benefit plans. We would like you to know more about how Health Risk Services can assist you with a 2021 plan to address changes to arising from virtual care, so please schedule a Complimentary Consultation with us.
At Health Risk Services we will Empathize, Educate, and Empower you and your team in 2021!
To schedule your Complimentary Consultation with Health Risk Services, please call 403-236-9430 OR email: [email protected]
