Pros and Cons of Virtual Urgent Care

JetMED Salt Lake City -Virtual Urgent Care SLC offers patients real-time access to an adult or pediatric emergency medicine physician. This service can be accessed on your smartphone, tablet or desktop.

Virtual Urgent Care

A telehealth or virtual care visit with a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant is a great option for many health concerns and illnesses. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your visit:

Virtual Urgent Care is a digital healthcare service that provides immediate access to medical assistance for non-life-threatening issues. It involves video consultations with medical experts over the internet. This type of healthcare is a convenient alternative to visiting a physical clinic and it is also cost-effective for patients. However, it’s important to know the pros and cons of Virtual Urgent Care before deciding whether or not to use it.

A virtual visit with a doctor allows patients to access the same high-quality care that they would receive at an in-person appointment without the travel. This option is ideal for those with busy schedules or limited mobility. It can help patients save time by avoiding costly in-person visits and reducing wait times.

During the virtual visit, patients connect with an urgent care provider over a video call on their smartphone or computer. The doctor will evaluate the patient’s symptoms and suggest a treatment plan. They can also decide whether or not a face-to-face appointment is necessary for further tests. In some cases, the doctor can even prescribe medication for their condition.

The convenience of a telehealth visit is a major selling point for urgent care providers. Patients are often frustrated with long wait times at their doctors’ offices, especially during peak times like COVID-19. With a virtual urgent care visit, patients can avoid crowded waiting rooms and get the care they need immediately.

Moreover, patients can easily attend their appointments from anywhere they have internet access. This can be particularly useful for those who travel for work or live in rural areas. Additionally, a virtual visit is less expensive than an in-person appointment and it’s usually covered by insurance.

To maximize the convenience of a virtual visit, patients should look for a provider that offers transparent costs and a user-friendly platform. They should also ensure that the telehealth service is fully licensed and has the clinical scope to address their urgent needs. Lastly, they should look for a provider that is connected to their primary care physician or health system for optimal continuity of care.

Accessible

Virtual Urgent Care is the convenient way to talk to a doctor about your non-emergent medical concerns. It’s simple to use your smartphone, tablet or computer to connect to an expert at Tower Health. It’s important to remember that virtual care isn’t for emergencies (like chest pain or difficulty breathing) and does not replace your primary care provider. If you have life-threatening symptoms, call 911 immediately.

The COVID-19 pandemic resurgence of telemedicine has brought new awareness to the benefits of this technology. Many urgent care clinics now offer virtual access as part of their services. Large healthcare systems are acquiring and integrating telehealth startups, while other urgent care providers are forging partnerships with external telemedicine vendors or cobbling together DIY platforms to meet consumer expectations.

A recent study published by the Commonwealth Fund found that 82% of physicians feel telehealth improves their patients’ access to healthcare. It’s also becoming a more common benefit offered by employer-sponsored healthcare plans. In fact, a 2022 survey by McKinsey & Company found that 78% of consumers said they prefer a health plan with a virtual-first approach to care.

During a virtual visit, the doctor reviews the patient’s medical history and assesses their symptoms. If necessary, the doctor will order a lab test or send an electronic prescription to the patient’s pharmacy. Depending on the results of the lab tests, the doctor may decide to require further in-person testing or recommend a face-to-face appointment with a specialist.

While a virtual visit is convenient and safe, it does not provide the same level of physical examination as an in-person visit. This can sometimes be a challenge for patients with certain physical limitations or those with chronic conditions. The doctor may still be able to perform a limited physical exam.

The convenience of virtual urgent care is an invaluable resource during the COVID-19 pandemic. It helps reduce the strain on our healthcare system, lowers disease exposure and allows people to avoid the inconvenience of travel. Creating a strategy that highlights this benefit, like our JOY Campaign Journeys throughout the year or custom campaigns from Broadcaster, is your best bet to ensure your employees take advantage of it and get the care they need.

Saves Time

Virtual care services leverage technology to offer remote medical consultations for non-emergent health issues. This innovative approach provides significant time and monetary savings for both patients and healthcare organizations.

Unlike a physical visit to the urgent care center, which is often packed with people seeking treatment for non-emergent symptoms and conditions, online virtual visits are streamlined, convenient, and quick. During an urgent virtual care video visit, a patient connects to a provider through their favorite device, such as a smartphone or tablet. During the video interview, the physician reviews the patient’s symptoms and creates a personalized treatment plan. The entire experience averages 15 to 25 minutes.

The virtual care experience also offers a number of additional benefits that make it a more convenient option than visiting an urgent care center or even seeing a primary care doctor for many ailments. For example, a virtual visit can help a patient avoid the time-consuming and often costly process of having lab work done at a hospital or laboratory. The telehealth provider will send a patient’s results directly to their primary care doctor, who can then make an informed decision about what further steps to take.

If a provider recommends further evaluation, the patient can follow up with a specialist through the telehealth service. Patients can also receive prescriptions from their telehealth provider that can be picked up at the local pharmacy, which saves them the hassle of visiting a drug store and waiting in line. Finally, a virtual visit can provide immediate relief from some common symptoms that require urgent care, such as fevers, ear infections, or sprains and strains.

Employees who access virtual urgent care benefits at work can avoid losing valuable time at work due to illness, injury, or an inability to get into their regular doctor’s office. This can reduce presenteeism and help your team remain productive, which means that your business will be more profitable in the long run.

The convenience and affordability of virtual care can make it a top employee benefit. However, it can be challenging to keep the program top-of-mind for employees. That’s why it’s important to use marketing strategies that focus on a digital-first approach.

Prevents Recurring Illness

If you or a family member has an illness or injury that doesn’t require emergency care, but your primary care doctor’s office is closed or it’s too early for an appointment, virtual urgent care is available. With a telehealth visit, you can be seen by a board-certified physician via a video call. Your provider will assess your symptoms and provide diagnosis, at-home treatment suggestions and a prescription if needed.

If the problem is severe or needs immediate attention, your telehealth provider will recommend that you get to a brick-and-mortar clinic or emergency room as soon as possible for evaluation and treatment. This helps reduce the strain on in-person healthcare facilities and allows them to focus more energy and resources on urgent and life-threatening conditions.

The cost of a Virtual Urgent Care visit depends on your health insurance plan, but is typically less than the average $176 price tag for an in-person urgent care visit and significantly less than visiting a hospital emergency room for a non-emergency issue like an earache or strep throat. Depending on your state, Medicaid may also cover certain types of telehealth visits.

Virtual Urgent Care is a convenient way to address many common ailments, from earaches and fevers to sinus infections and pink eye. It’s also a great option for minor injuries and illnesses that occur over the weekend or holidays when your regular doctor is likely to be closed.

Employees who are sick or injured can be a significant drag on productivity. This type of lost productivity is known as absenteeism, and can lead to costly missed opportunities for your business. With 24/7 access to telehealth services, employees can see their healthcare providers quickly and easily without the disruption of missing work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual urgent care helped to alleviate the stress on in-person health care systems by helping people stay home and seek care where they were most comfortable. However, this was a dynamic and complicated situation that resulted in a wide range of patient needs. Unlike in-person health care visits, virtual urgent care patients did not closely mirror typical ED volumes or the patient mix of the ED.