The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed virtual care and telehealth into the spotlight. The desire to receive basic medical care in a safe and convenient environment has caused telehealth utilization and acceptance to increase significantly. Initially, some telehealth providers became overwhelmed with the volume of virtual traffic, and in most cases, they scaled to meet the increased demand. Behavioral health has made its way into the forefront of virtual care and has become a main staple in telehealth as individuals continue to seek help coping with the unique challenges of isolation, stress, fear, and uncertainty. As the demand for telehealth continues to rise, we have felt the growing need to take an in-depth look into this rising industry.
This increased demand led Beehive Insurance to complete an extensive study to determine the current offerings and future developments of the telehealth market. We are proud to share the results with you as weāve studied past developments with an eye towards future trends and performed a deep dive analysis into telehealth providers in the market.
Industry experts believe that the telehealth market will continue to evolve and expand as additional services are provided in a virtual environment and as providers and patients become increasingly comfortable with the quality of care and the types of services that can be effectively delivered virtually.
Telehealth companies currently offer services ranging from basic medical diagnosis, treatment, initial behavioral health counseling to remote patient monitoring and primary care visits.
After assessing the broad telehealth market, we narrowed our sights on eight companies to evaluate using 27 different criteriaāeach receiving an extensive review by the experts on the Beehive team.
Of the 27 criteria initially used in the evaluation, Beehive focused on the following factors as the most differentiating and impactful to our clients:
Overall Value ā Did the price and quality of the service provide overall value?
Reporting Capability ā You get what you measure. Do the reports track and measure what matters most?
Ease of Administration ā Was enrollment error-free and was ongoing support provided?
Employee Engagement ā Engagement is key to reducing medical costs. Who had a proven record of employee engagement?
Satisfaction Ratings ā Are the employees delighted with the service they receive? Were their medical and behavioral health concerns addressed during their virtual visits?
Innovation ā Is the company looking for whatās next in the telehealth market? Are they innovative in the way they meet the individualsā needs?
Technology ā What technology platform is being used and does it enhance or detract from the individualās experience?
Beehive Fit ā At Beehive, we strive to be the best āfitā for our clients. We also strive to hold our service providers to that same standard in order to be the best fit for partnering with us.
In working to find a partner that meets all of these standards and criteria, we are pleased to announce that WellVia is the preferred telehealth provider for Beehiveās clients. WellVia is rated at or near the top of each of the categories listed above. They provide excellent value, robust and customizable reports, a history of top-level employee engagement and tools to remind employees of this company-provided benefit. WellVia is innovative and is an industry leader in adding services to their offering while using cutting-edge technology to provide a highly-rated app and a user-friendly website for convenient use.
We know that the telehealth market will continue evolving at a rapid pace. We also know that our clients look to Beehive as a trusted advisor and employee benefits partner. To maintain your trust, Beehive will continue to stay informed of developments in the telehealth market and advise our clients in a way that ensures they are receiving the best possible outcomes from this offering.