Primary care is an important and sometimes overlooked part of U.S. healthcare. Virtual primary care is a powerful solution that is transforming primary care — enabling the delivery of more convenient, effective, and affordable health care to everyone, including those who otherwise have no access to primary care. 

Primary care has many benefits

The benefits of having a primary care physician are well documented: People who have a PCP get more preventive care [1] (including vaccinations [2]), their overall healthcare costs are lower, and people who have better access to primary care doctors live longer. 

In a large study of ambulatory care, each primary care outpatient visit was associated with a $720/year lower healthcare expense; for the highest risk patients (top 10%), the average reduction was an astonishing $16,406 per visit [3]. 

By one estimate, each increase of 10 PCPs per 100,000 people leads to an average increase in lifespan of 51.5 days [4]. In areas that have fewer PCPs, especially rural areas,  people do not live as long. Of all regions designated primary medical “health professional shortage areas (HPSAs)” (< 1 PCP/3,500), ⅔ are rural [5]. If people in underserved rural areas had access to 1 PCP per 2,200 (as they do in urban areas), they would live 188 days longer [5].

We have good reason to set a high priority on expanding everyone's access to primary care. 

PCPs are in short supply

Today, we have many areas of the country with too few PCPs [5]. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) projects that by 2034 the shortage will rise to 18–48k primary care doctors [6]. The increased need for primary care is driven chiefly by a growing population that is aging, and there simply aren't enough PCPs to manage the rising demand. To make matters worse, PCPs are leaving clinical practice or retiring early. In the face of relentless pressure to increase productivity and work longer hours, doctors are burning out. Increased administrative burdens, and more time with the electronic health record (EHR) are making it worse. 

Virtual primary care is a solution

Virtual primary care connects patients with their PCP via video and audio, with options for asynchronous text interactions between visits. Patients can see their doctor from the comfort and security of their home, without the inconvenience, expense, and time required to see the doctor in an office. And the virtual visit is less expensive than in-office visits; typical virtual visits with a primary care doctor cost <$50 [7].

When doctors connect with their patients virtually, they create relationships of trust and caring that are the foundation for effective primary care; it's no surprise that multiple studies demonstrate the effectiveness of virtual care:

• Virtual primary care improves adherence and follow-up. [8]
• Post-discharge visit completions are 22.5% greater with virtual care. [12]
• Virtual primary care doctors are less likely to overprescribe. [8]
• Virtual care works for seniors too. [9][10]

Virtual healthcare is a rewarding solution for doctors too. They appreciate the autonomy of managing their own virtual practice. They love the freedom from additional administrative or clerical tasks, concerns about billing and payment, managing staff, and credentialing, and all the challenges of an office-based practice. Most of all, they love how virtual consultations provide them undistracted time to focus on their patients. Doctors using the HealthTap app give us a net promoter score (NPS) of 80!

People are more satisfied when telehealth is patient-centered, and when they perceive health benefits. [11] People who have experienced virtual primary care visits on HealthTap tell us how much they like it: The reviews are outstanding, and ratings of virtual primary care visits consistently average more than 4.9 out of 5 stars. 

A solution for PCP deserts

Virtual primary care offers people in underserved areas easy access to a PCP for ongoing care, but only if they have a good Internet connection. Fortunately, most underserved areas already have that connectivity. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as of 2021, approximately 78% of rural Americans have access to the Internet with sufficient bandwidth to conduct high resolution video visits. 

FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund aims to provide funding to internet service providers to bring broadband internet to all rural areas, and some states and local governments have their own initiatives to expand broadband internet access in underserved areas. These efforts hopefully will improve broadband internet access in rural HPSA areas over time.

Conclusion

Virtual primary care provides convenient, effective, affordable care to anyone with an Internet connection, and doctors love it. It is a much-needed solution that is transforming primary care.