5 virtual health care trends driving employers' health care strategies

One of the most impactful features of virtual primary care is a health care navigation platform, as it empowers a truly virtual-first health care experience.

Health care has been an integral part of workforce strategy for decades. However, COVID-19 revealed the degree to which business continuity depends on sound health care strategy. Employers who proactively forecasted outbreak risk, implemented testing and containment strategies and adjusted workplace policies and procedures were able to reopen faster and withstand additional spikes in the summer and fall. As employers seek to insulate their businesses from further shocks and ensure that their members can stay healthy and productive, virtual care has emerged as a convenient way to deliver high-quality health care.

Related: 4 steps to vetting a virtual-care solution for your employees

Prior to 2020, we believed widespread adoption of virtual care was the future, a growth that would follow a gradual glide path. COVID-19 broke every health care process in the country and forced people to use telemedicine at unthinkable rates. In the first months of the pandemic, telemedicine visits spiked drastically, leading the U.S. to experience a 57% increase in the number of people who used telemedicine in 2020.