Large Business Survey Sees a Post-COVID Shift to Telehealth Services

Roughly three-quarters of the nation’s large businesses expanded their telehealth programs for employees during the pandemic, and many may use those channels in the future to address social determinants of health and improve access to mental health services.

That’s the take-away from the 2022 Large Employers’ Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey, unveiled this week by the Business Group on Health. The annual survey gathered opinions this year from 136 employers covering more than 8 million lives.

And many of them are turning to connected health to address ongoing health concerns among their employees, including an expected increase in health issues brought about by a reluctance to seek care during the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the survey, some 94 percent of large businesses are anticipating an increase in medical services due to delayed care. Some 91 percent are concerned about long-term mental health effects of the pandemic, 76 percent expect chronic care management needs to increase, and 68 percent are worried about an increase in late-stage cancer treatments because employees skipped or delayed wellness visits or check-ups.

“Staying at home during numerous lockdowns meant that doctor visits and preventive screenings were delayed or missed altogether,” the survey noted. “Social isolation and uncertainty due to the fluid nature of the pandemic proved to be an impetus for depression, anxiety and substance use disorders. As a result, employers anticipate seeing an increase in medical services, late-stage cancer diagnoses, greater numbers of people with long-term mental health and substance use issues and other adverse effects. These could last well into future years.”

To address those concerns, more than three-quarters of businesses expanded their telehealth strategy during the pandemic, and many expect to continue that momentum. That trend is also seen in the number of virtual care services, such as AmazonCare and Aetna Virtual Primary Care, now being tailored to health plans and self-funded businesses.

Beyond that, the survey also notes an increase in on-site clinics, and an opportunity for businesses and telehealth providers to expand virtual care through that platform. Some 44 percent of businesses surveyed had such clinics in place prior to the pandemic, and 14 percent are either adding a clinic in the coming year or considering one over the next few years.

While many of these clinics are likely to focus at first on COVID-19 testing and treatment, they’ll also offer chronic care management services, as well as telehealth connections to other specialists and care providers. And as the pandemic comes under those control, those services will continue to grow as more employees seek convenient access to care.

For now, though, the focus is on addressing social determinants of health and mental health.

According to the survey, whereas 61 percent of businesses were addressing healthcare access prior to the pandemic, another 18 percent plan to target those barriers over the next three years. Other areas of interest include finances, racism, childcare, transportation, food access and housing.

“Employers are initiating programs and benefits to improve the circumstances that employees and their families are born into and live, which have an impact on their ability to live healthy and fulfilling lives,” the study points out. “By zeroing in on these circumstances, employers can tackle the underlying social and economic challenges that influence overall well-being, with the goal of bringing about systemic change.”

Those strategies can be addressed or enhanced through connected health, which not only offers access to healthcare but can be configured to improve access to other resources, such as social services.

Finally, some 76 percent of businesses surveyed say they’re focusing on expanding access to mental health and emotional well-being services in the future, due to a surge in stress, depression and other mental health concerns caused in large part by the pandemic. In addition, 57 percent are making it a point to address the stigma associated with seeking mental healthcare.

Other areas of concern include finding the appropriate treatment (36 percent), burnout (35 percent), quality of care (29 percent) and family services (26 percent).

Telehealth has long been considered an important platform for delivering mental health services by allowing patients to access care on their own terms and discreetly. Those advantages are driving more businesses to include telemental health services in their health plans.