CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Stop Health® (FSH), a leading virtual care provider in the areas of telemedicine (virtual urgent care) and virtual mental health, is excited to announce a significant expansion of virtual care for its clients and members throughout the U.S.
Starting in 2022, FSH Virtual Primary Care will be available to help improve members' health with integrated services for urgent, preventive and chronic care needs while working to help lower healthcare costs for employers.
Members currently use FSH Telemedicine and Virtual Mental Health as a first stop for health® with an average telemedicine utilization rate of 44% and average time to connect with telemedicine doctors of less than three minutes. FSH Virtual Primary Care will include telemedicine for urgent care issues, preventive care for routine wellness screenings, and chronic care for the management of ongoing health issues — delivering whole-person, digital-first care.
"The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the limitations of in-person preventive and chronic care visits," said FSH Chief Medical Officer and Chief Growth Officer Dr. Eric Bricker. "Patients throughout the U.S. were left without care options for routine and long-term issues. In-person visits typically allow doctors to identify and begin to address downstream health complications, but these visits rarely occurred, and the long-term impact may be devastating for many patients."
Telemedicine was a pillar of healthcare success during the pandemic. A 2021 study indicated that telemedicine experienced 78 times higher usage during the initial months of COVID-19 and stabilized to 38 times higher usage during the summer of 2021, when compared with usage prior to the start of the pandemic. Most patients in the study also indicated that they plan to continue to use telemedicine while expressing interest in "broader" virtual care needs.
"People now expect convenient, speedy access to care when and where they need it," said Dr. Bricker. "FSH Virtual Primary Care provides affordable, high-quality care, enhances patient-provider relationships and helps our employer-clients reduce high-cost healthcare claims."
To learn more about First Stop Health, visit www.fshealth.com.
About First Stop Health
First Stop Health provides care that people loveSM. Patients can access care 24/7 via mobile app, website or phone. We help them save time and money with safe, convenient, high-quality care. Our Telemedicine, Virtual Mental Health and Virtual Primary Care services are available as an employee benefit from employers and to members of wellness plans, captives, MEC plans, health shares and other benefit platforms.
Media Contact
Nick Severino | VP, Marketing | First Stop Health
888-691-7867 x-410 | nseverino@fshealth.com
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