Employers Are Looking to Expand Virtual Care Options for Employees; Cerner Suggests 5 Steps for Designing a Strategy

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Image via Cerner.

Consider how more employees are working remotely. It’s estimated that 25 percent to 30 percent of the workforce will work from home multiple days a week by the end of 2021. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual care adoption has skyrocketed, with one report showing a virtual visit utilization increase of 250 percent early on in the pandemic.

Employers recognize people who leverage their health plan benefits are relying on them to provide virtual care options to help minimize COVID-19 risk exposure and provide convenient options.

A recent study by the Business Group on Health indicated employers are looking to increase investments in virtual health, with 51 percent of survey respondents saying they plan to implement more virtual health solutions moving forward. As employers reimagine how to accommodate the new virtual world, Cerner suggests considering these five steps when designing your strategy:

1. Assess Your Need

Is your workforce dispersed or in one location? Consider the level of virtual services you’ll off­er – from 100 percent virtual to a combination of virtual and in-person services.

2. Consider Your Service Lines

You can off­er a range of virtual services, from mental health and well-being to lifestyle and condition management to primary and urgent care.

3. Assemble the Care Team

A coordinated care team becomes even more important in a virtual world to keep employees engaged and on track. Three essential care team members include:

  • Advocates to help with health care benefits navigation, billing questions and concerns, appointment scheduling, and proactive identification of need
  • Care managers to provide health screening assessments, lifestyle and nutrition coaching, condition management, and care gap closure
  • Physicians who can be virtual, on-site, and in the community.

4. Determine Your Technology Needs

Data-driven technology helps the care team connect with your workforce. Technology should include:

  • Secure messaging
  • Video capabilities
  • Digital care plans
  • Personalized communication tools

5. Incorporate Resources

Consider how you’ll incorporate the many existing programs you have in place to help create a coordinated experience for your workforce, like:

  • Employee assistance programs
  • Price transparency tools
  • Second opinion services
  • Community resources to address social determinants of health

Ready to address your organization’s virtual care strategy? Cerner can help with its near-site shared network, Anuva Health. Anuva Health by Cerner features in-person services complemented by virtual health services to help provide employees convenient access to care, when and where they need it. Learn more about Anuva Health by Cerner. Contact workforcehealth@cerner.com.

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