Virtual health continues its rapid growth as providers, patients and payers are using technology to overcome issues with in-office visits during the COVID pandemic. The rates of usage grew exponentially in the first half of 2020 and it’s clear that telehealth is a solution whose time has come.
All kinds of providers are using telehealth to serve their patients through a variety of platforms, technologies, policies and processes. We’ve seen practically every specialty practice offer virtual visits – from Dermatology to Primary Care to Behavioral Health – and hospitals are also offering additional direct-to-consumer telehealth.
Employees and their families are using EAP and behavioral health services at higher rates during the pandemic and they are accessing these services via telehealth; employers foresee use of the technology to grow.
But with this growth comes risk – how can employers ensure quality and security with the increasing telehealth usage by their employees? That’s where accreditation comes in. URAC’s Telehealth accreditation assures that your telehealth providers and vendor partners are using best-practice standards to ensure data protection, mitigate risk, strengthen quality and safety, and provide confidence to your employees and their families.
We recommend that you add these three short questions as part of your Health benefit RFP process and selection. These criteria allow you to evaluate the quality of any organization delivering telehealth to your most valuable asset, your employees.
· Q1- Do you offer virtual visits as part of (LIST BENEFIT HERE) benefit?
· Q2 – If yes to Q1, are the Telehealth providers and health care vendors in your network providing virtual care accredited for Telehealth? If so, by whom?
In short, if you want better health outcomes, request telehealth accreditation in your next Health Benefit RFP
Learn more about URAC’s Digital Health Accreditations
