As more patients are avoiding primary care as chain stores and virtual care players launch into the space, ViVE 2023 panelists discussed the future of preventative medicine and whether digital health could improve access.
Ali Parsa, CEO and founder of a digital health company Babylon, said more primary care options are good for the healthcare system. The problems are “too big” for a group to handle alone.
“There will be a very diverse group of people, with every flower being able to blossom and provide choice for our members and patients. That’s not the situation we’re working towards. I think we’re seeing a huge consolidation in the sector,” he said.
Dr Nworah Ayogu, Director General and Chief Medical Officer of Newly Launched Amazon Clinicargued that newcomers to primary care should not focus on who owns the sector, but on how they can improve the patient and provider experience.
“What can we bring to customers? What can we do for doctors and providers to help them do their job better? Because God knows it’s actually very difficult to be a claimant. . In many ways it has become more difficult,” he said. “So how do we start to make this easier for clients, easier for doctors, easier for the system?”
Vidya Raman-Tangella, chief medical officer of the virtual care giant Teladoc Health, said it was important to put patients at the center and involve them more directly in their care. It is not care that is given to the patient, but care given with him.
“We are all here as stakeholders in a very large and complex ecosystem to do our part: to provide effective and equitable care,” she said. “But ultimately what you want to do is empower the patient to do their part. Because only they can control these complex lifestyle factors that really influence health and disease. .”
Although access to primary care is associated with better health outcomes, more people do not use it. According to a recent FAIR Health report, 29% of patients who received medical services between 2016 and 2022 did not see a primary care provider. However, this varied by state, ranging from a high of 43% in Tennessee to a low of 16% in Massachusetts.
Karen Silgen, managing director and vice president of virtual care at insurer UnitedHealthcare, said some patients are engaged, but others don’t really want to see a primary care provider. This is where adding more convenient places to seek care could help.
“I think creating those options and access points within the health system is important,” she said. “A lot of virtual care businesses that we’ve networked so all of our business members have access to them. So it’s not a purchase for an employer.”
But it can’t all be about the patient, Amazon’s Ayogu said. Patients want to be healthy, and it is not necessarily a problem of will that prevents them from accessing primary care.
“We know health care is unaffordable, it’s not accessible, it’s not convenient. We know people are busy and have many other pressing issues to deal with,” he said. -he declares. “It’s actually incumbent on us to make health care easy to access, affordable and convenient. And that’s really what we should be focusing on.”