Cincinnati, Ohio – During Telehealth Awareness Week, a fresh approach to virtual visits is gaining attention, promising to cut down wait times for urgent care significantly. This method updates the usual telehealth services by enabling patients to handle non-emergency conditions like sore throats, backaches, headaches, and rashes through virtual urgent care sessions.
Mandy Via, director of access and referral management in telehealth at Premier Health, explained the suitability of these conditions for virtual treatment. Via noted that the pandemic has proven that virtual visits can effectively address many medical issues without the long wait times associated with emergency rooms, and they avoid the possibility of being exposed to other ill individuals in waiting areas.
To manage these virtual visits, Premier Health employs nurse practitioners, while other providers might use different specialists for similar services.
“You can really kind of dial it up as to what works best in your community for your organization,” Via said.
For families with packed schedules, virtual urgent care offers a valuable alternative to primary care doctors, both after hours and during regular times.
“I can tell you from a consumer lens this is a wild success for our patients that don’t want to take time off work. They are able to get seen virtually, get their prescriptions called in, all from the comfort of their home versus having to load up the kids, go to the office, wait in line, all of those different pieces,” Via said.
Via mentioned that she only had to wait three minutes for her recent virtual urgent care visit. There’s a strong effort underway to lower the number of emergency room visits for conditions that can be managed elsewhere. Many medical insurance plans may cover this service, but it’s wise to confirm this before starting a session.