By Lyle Berkowitz, MD, CEO, KeyCare
LinkedIn: Lyle Berkowitz, MD, FACP, FHIMSS
LinkedIn: KeyCare
Patient wait times for physician appointments continue to reach excessive lengths, creating patient frustration and putting health systems at risk of losing patients to competitors.
Consider, for example, the average wait time for the third next available appointment across 11 medical specialties is 38 days, according to The Waiting Game report from ECG Management Consultants. Out of 253 metropolitan areas sampled in the report, only 6% had an average wait time of 14 days or less, which is generally considered the industry benchmark.
Wait times ranged widely across specialties, with the highest wait time of 68 days for rheumatology and the lowest 20 days for orthopedic surgery. For an appointment with a primary care doctor, the average time was 29 days.
Long wait times for primary care appointments are particularly concerning. When patients are unable to obtain timely access to primary care, manageable conditions such as high blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol may grow worse and lead to more severe and costly medical issues. In some cases, patients who are unable to access timely primary care seek care in more costly settings such as emergency departments (EDs) and urgent care clinics, resulting in overcrowding and further delays.
The situation may grow more dire during fall and winter months, as we definitely know EDs experience rising patient volumes. Rates of flu and flu-like illnesses are at their highest levels during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods, and EDs also see increases in a variety of non-respiratory illness cases during the winter holiday season, such as slips and falls, sharp object injuries, falls from heights, workplace accidents, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and psychiatric disorders.
Engaging and retaining patients is critical for health systems to prevent leakage and preserve revenue as patients age and require more medical services. When patients are unable to get timely appointments with their regular doctors, they are likely to seek other sources of care.
Accordingly, health systems need strategies for expanding their capacity to ensure patients have access to timely care.
Patients want virtual care options
Fortunately, health systems have an effective option to alleviate the build-up of pressure associated with increasing patient wait times: virtual care partners. By embracing virtual options for routine care, as well as urgent but minor issues such as rashes and ear infections, health systems can increase capacity, reduce wait times, and provide relief to busy, overworked clinicians.
A recent consumer survey sponsored by KeyCare contains some important insights for health systems related to virtual care. The survey found that, for minor but urgent issues, such as influenza, sinusitis, and rash, nearly 75% of patients expressed a preference for telehealth visits or whichever is first available between telehealth and office visits. Similarly, 63% wanted telehealth options for other types of visits, such as preventive, specialty, and chronic care, while a minority preferred going into the office.
Patients’ top reasons for preferring telehealth over in-office visits included: no need to travel (73%), quicker access to care (67%), the desire to avoid being in a waiting room with other sick people (54%), more convenient hours (51%), avoiding lost workdays (29%), and not wanting to bother their doctor with a minor issue (23%).
Further, when given the scenario of looking to start care with a new health system where the wait for an office visit was over one month, over 82% said they would likely or absolutely choose to do a telehealth visit within three days instead – and only 4.5% would absolutely wait for an office visit.
The need to inform patients of virtual care options
Despite patients’ desire for more telehealth, the survey also revealed that they often do not know about the virtual care options available at their health systems. For example, when asked whether their current primary care physician or health system offers on-demand telehealth visits for minor urgent health issue, over 55% were unsure or answered “No.” And when asked whether their health system had ever let them know they could utilize telehealth if the wait for an office visit was too long or it was their preference for other reasons, 41% responded “No.”
Another important note: The survey revealed that 78% of patients said it was important that their regular doctor and telehealth doctor both have access to their health records, such as current allergies, medications and chronic health conditions. However, 37% reported that their last virtual provider either did not have access to their medical records or they were unsure if they did.
These numbers illustrate the significant opportunity in front of health systems to increase virtual care capacity and coverage. Frustrated with long wait times and seeking more convenience, patients continue to embrace virtual options, especially when care is coordinated with their regular care team.
To ensure the success of their virtual care initiatives, health systems should make it a priority to proactively communicate all the virtual care options that are available to patients. With the right virtual care strategy and partners, health systems can better-position themselves to obtain new patients and ensure established patient loyalty by offering convenient access to well-coordinated care.