Access to behavioral health care continues to be a significant challenge across the country, with 50% of behavioral health patients being treated in primary care While primary care providers want to know more about behavioral health and help their patients, they don’t always have the time or specialized knowledge to treat complex cases.
Without dedicated providers or the ability to risk stratify or prioritize care, healthcare organizations may struggle to ensure patients receive the appropriate level of care in a timely manner.
For those healthcare organizations, a comprehensive, endlessly adaptable care model like Virtual Clinic can help a patient receive the holistic behavioral health care they need while seamlessly integrating across their care continuum.
Virtual Clinic embeds behavioral health specialists into your healthcare organization
The Virtual Clinic adapts to meet your organization’s needs and acts as an extension of your care team, integrating seamlessly across your healthcare organization. The goal of this care model is to connect patients with the right provider at the right time, ensuring the most in need are first in line.
Here’s how it works: Once a patient is referred, a licensed social worker conducts an intake to determine the appropriate level of care, whether the patient requires a psychiatrist, therapist, or both. This process, along with medication management and consults, is documented within the electronic health record (EHR) — providing real-time data access for your team.
Additionally, after the intake appointment, the LCSW will schedule the patient’s next appointment.
Virtual Clinic providers are also available for consultations, working alongside your healthcare organization to stabilize patients and facilitate appropriate transition back to their primary care provider.
We help support your team and develop the pathways most meaningful to your patient population – whether they’re a new mother, an oncology patient, or pediatric patient.
Virtual Clinic gives your patients what they need, so they don’t seek care elsewhere
Economic feasibility and program scalability are essential to a healthcare organization’s approach to behavioral health. With Virtual Clinic, healthcare organizations only pay for patient encounters, aligning costs with utilization. Because of our commitment to quality and belief in this program, we deliver this model at risk to help ensure a scalable and sustainable solution for your healthcare organization.
Yara Nielsenshultz, Executive Director of Quality
The benefit of having a quality management solution in place at your healthcare organization is the ability to look at a patient’s health outcomes across all specialties and see where there may be intersections between how specialties are working together and where opportunities to collaborate may lie.
Additionally, with nearly 56% of Americans seeking mental health care and 74% expressing concerns about accessibility, offering behavioral health services can be a key differentiator for your healthcare organization. Wherever your focus is across the continuum, Virtual Clinic ensures patients can get the specialized care they need at your healthcare organization—eliminating the need to seek care elsewhere.
This holistic approach enhances patient retention and satisfaction, generating word-of-mouth referrals and broader promotion of your services.
Virtual Clinic leverages AI to help healthcare organizations prioritize which patients need care first
The Virtual Clinic model has been trained to test for false positive and negatives, leveraging a healthcare organization’s existing and incoming data sets. This approach considers which patients are at most risk for escalating towards suicidal ideation or towards care in the ED.
“A solution like Virtual Clinic ensures behavioral health care is always available throughout every patient journey – whether that’s in primary care or women’s health, patients will get the support they need in a timely manner.” – Andy Flanagan, Chief Executive Officer
Want to learn more from Andy? Click here to read his take on the impact of Virtual Clinic.
By analyzing existing data sets, Virtual Clinic can direct your team to the patients who need immediate attention, reducing wait times and improving outcomes.
When changes in a patient’s condition occur, their provider can consult with a Virtual Clinic specialist to discuss care adjustments, such as medication changes, further enhancing quality of care.
Want to learn more about how we’re leveraging AI? Check out our Iris Insights blog here.
Where Iris Telehealth fits in
Iris Telehealth’s Virtual Clinic offers an adaptable, integrated solution that augments your healthcare organization’s operations and capacity. Our program is designed to be financially sustainable while creating lasting positive outcomes for your patients.
Ready to learn more? Contact us today to see how Virtual Clinic can enhance both patient and provider satisfaction while mitigating risk.
