Digital Specialty Access: Lower Costs, Higher Patient Satisfaction?

Nationally, patients often face difficulties accessing in-person specialty care, resulting in delayed healthcare access and subsequent poor health outcomes. In South Carolina, all 46 counties have some health professional shortage areas. As a result, patients face exacerbated challenges accessing specialty care, averaging a 3- to 6-month wait for in-person specialty care appointments. To overcome these barriers, a 100 percent virtual-only specialty service line was developed for high-demand specialties and primary care to increase access to specialty providers and offer an alternative to in-person care. Specialty services are offered statewide, with or without a physician referral offering patients “no barrier” to services. A fully dedicated support team provides pre- and post-visit patient coordination to schedule appointments, collect demographic and pre-visit clinical information, coordinate referrals for in-person lab work, imaging, and pharmaceuticals based on the patient's location, and reduce patient no-shows by assisting patients in connecting to their virtual visit. This coordination results in an increase in overall patient satisfaction compared to hybrid in-person/virtual care.