Transforming Patient Experience: The Role of Virtual Specialty

In an era where patient demand exceeds specialist availability – virtual specialty care emerges as a beacon of hope, offering cost-effective, high-quality care with unprecedented accessibility. This new path to care redefines patient experience, integrating technology seamlessly to provide multi-disciplinary care and ensure frequent – or even continuous – engagement between patients and providers.

Traditionally, accessing specialty care involved navigating through physical sites, often leading to lengthy delays for appointments, infrequent visits and fragmented communication. However, virtual specialty transcends these limitations by offering comprehensive care through web or app-based platforms. Patients benefit from meaningful interactions with medical specialists (not coaches), timely/frequent appointments and continuous communication. Often, this is augmented by self-reporting and/or continuous data monitoring by remote patient monitoring technology. All of this has proven to result in superior patient experience and outcomes.

The design and impact of virtual specialty care extends well beyond telehealth or digitizing traditional services. It pioneers a new clinical experience tailored to patient needs, while driving payment innovation through value-based arrangements. By incentivizing outcomes over volume, virtual clinics prioritize patient value and reduce unnecessary procedures, thus optimizing costs without compromising quality.

Solera Health Partners Are Making an Impact

Solera’s HALO™ platform offers a single user experience and digital front door through which members are matched with their best-fit solutions. Our growing network of clinically vetted virtual specialty partners are available seamlessly to eligible participants.

In gastroenterology, Oshi Health exemplifies the success of virtual specialty clinics. By bringing together a multidisciplinary care team and leveraging technology, Oshi provides comprehensive care addressing medical, dietary, and behavioral health aspects. Members experience high engagement levels and timely access to care, resulting in significant symptom control and patient satisfaction.

Similarly, Vori Health specializes in musculoskeletal care, offering virtual evaluations and optimization programs for surgical referrals. Through personalized care plans and health coaching, Vori Health drives value for both payors and patients, avoiding unnecessary surgeries and optimizing outcomes.

In endocrinology, 9am Health addresses health equity by providing virtual access to specialty care, reducing disparities in geographical, financial and health literacy barriers. Their outcomes demonstrate improved clinical parameters and reduced healthcare costs, showcasing the transformative potential of virtual specialty care.

Looking ahead, virtual specialty clinics promise to reshape healthcare delivery by expanding access and improving outcomes measurement. With standardized outcomes and condition-specific risk-bearing contracts, value-based care can reach greater scale, benefiting patients, providers and payors alike.

It’s evident that the evolution of virtual specialty care represents a paradigm shift in healthcare, offering a holistic approach to patient care while driving value and innovation across the healthcare ecosystem. As virtual clinics continue to proliferate, the future of healthcare looks brighter, with improved access, outcomes and cost-effectiveness for all.

Stay tuned for insights into new specialties and care models joining Solera’s platform – and schedule a consultation to learn more.

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