October 20, 2021 – Healthcare providers struggling to retain patients can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Leading telemedicine and digital health service provider, CareHive, is helping healthcare practices to improve patient retention rates, especially by serving as an after-hours extension for partnered healthcare providers. The company offers expert telehealth services 24/7/365 in the acute space, as well as data-driven chronic care management and clinical navigation with health system and plan partners.
Keith Munro, Chief Marketing Officer of CareHive, noted that one of the key benefits in partnering with medical groups and healthcare systems is to improve their patient retention rates by preventing patient leakage.
There are two forms of patient leakage. One is network leakage which is patient induced. It happens when a patient chooses an out-of-network resource for their healthcare needs. The other is referral leakage which is induced by the provider and occurs when a provider sends patient referrals to out-of-network resources. Put simply, a leakage happens whenever a patient receives treatment outside their network, which commonly happens when a patient seeks medical care after hours and on weekends when their Primary Care Provider (PCP) is unavailable.
“The retention problem can be avoided if the PCP is able to provide the patient with after-hours care under the same medical home,” said Mr. Munro. “Generally, PCPs are not available for all patients 24/7 and this is where CareHive’s telehealth services come to the rescue, not to mention easing that Monday-morning-rush burden on providers.”
Mr. Munro stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the practice of telehealth and virtual visits. People who felt COVID symptoms were not always eager to visit a hospital or the ER, or preferred to avoid these waiting rooms given the pandemic. On the other hand, they wanted immediate medical attention and telehealth support surfaced as the most viable solution for them. This behavior further highlighted how a virtual care partner like CareHive can significantly prevent patient leakage from primary care practices.
A related important issue involves communication and patient information. After-hours urgent care centers are typically cut off from patient records and history – they rely on what the patient is telling them in the moment. This can have serious consequences due to existing conditions or comorbidities. “CareHive’s virtual services operate 24/7 as a true extension of the PCP,” Munro continued, “complete with patient condition and medical history information, to ensure patients receive the appropriate medical attention even after-hours. We then share information from these virtual visits back to the PCP. As such, CareHive provides true connected care that delivers better patient outcomes in addition to ensuring in-network care that lowers costs.”
CareHive’s telehealth services begin with Navigators with escalation to RNs, Advance Practice Providers, and Doctors as needed to ensure patients receive expert medical care even when they are not able to get access to their PCP. Furthermore, after a telehealth session, CareHive can follow up with patients to assess further care needs from their PCP.
“Our team is truly appreciative of having a trusting, high-quality partnership that extends our practice,” said Dr. Kevin Spencer, President and CEO of Premier Family Physicians, a multi-clinic PCP system and CareHive client. “CareHive’s technology is convenient and accessible, and their people deliver exemplary, empathetic medicine to our patients.”
For more information, please visit https://carehive.com/how-digital-health-can-improve-patient-retention.
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Company Name: CareHive Health
Contact Person: Keith Munro
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Phone: (844) 951-CARE
Address:5901 Vega Ave Suite 100
City: Austin
State: TX
Country: United States
Website: https://carehive.com/