The Doctor Will See You Now
Updated: May 12, 2021
I guess there are a few topics one should not discuss in mixed company. I've heard to not bring up taxes, weather, or politics. But I'm thinking we may have a fourth topic, health insurance costs.
Over the previous 18 months, the cost vs. benefit ratio on employer provided health insurance continued to expand upon the polarity of the subject without a clear vision of stabilizing. Add in the #COVID-19 pandemic and margin of value for money spent isn't opening as much in the near future. What options do employers have to feasibly show appreciation toward their staff and their families? And how can businesses maintain competitive advantages when it comes to quality medical benefits? Enter #telemedicine.
Since 1964, telemedicine has been utilized to link patients to physicians. Think of an astronaut needing to see the doctor and you can visualize the positive impacts and belief in telemedicine can have. For many Americans, their primary physician or medical network may have had telemedicine available, for their physician or another medical professional within that specific clinic network. Fast forward to just recent public health cautions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and now telemedicine isn't as much of a novelty. Secure readied access to a medical professional is now 24/7 via phone call, instant messaging, video chat, telehealth kiosks, or smartphone. What this means for some of the riskier health individuals protecting themselves and families from contracting COVID-19 is access to the highest quality medical, and behavioral, care any day, any time. No more setting appointments, traveling, waiting rooms, or in dire mental situations, instant contact to help. Where we once needed to restructure work days, school days, and waiting for a walk in clinic to open, the care industry comes to us when utilizing telemedicine.
For less than $12 per month*, each household's occupants, can enjoy 24-hour access to board certified care any day of the week without any added cost beyond the low monthly rate. To better summarize the power behind this very cost effective health benefit, I've listed some features below-
a. What are the benefits of telemedicine?
- Allows you to talk to your doctor, or an alternative, live over the phone or video chat
- Allows you to send and receive messages from your doctor using chat messaging or
- Allows for remote monitoring of patients
- Satisfy need for up to 80% of non-surgical urgent care situations
- Save on travel time/ transportation costs
- Reduced wait time for services
- Best protection against deadly contagious COVID-19
- Prescription refills
- Reduced number of visits to clinic
b. What types of care can you get using telemedicine?
- Screening for COVID-19, testing recommendations, and guidance on isolation or
quarantine
- General health care (i.e. wellness visits, blood pressure control, advice about certain
non-emergency illnesses, like common rashes)
- Prescriptions for medication
- Nutrition counseling
- AODA counseling
- #Mentalhealth counseling
In closing, what was thought to be of novelty, telemedicine is becoming a powerful but yet very low cost option for almost any business to extend to their employees as a retention tool.
* Monthly access costs are inclusive of all charges for medical professional time and the technology portal use. Some programs may be higher or lower, based on group size, services overall needed, and other proprietary factors. #firstnationshealth