SSM Health’s ‘virtual visit’ treats common ailments with no insurance necessary

Jun. 21--If you're under the weather because of a suspected sinus infection, allergies or heartburn, a new program through SSM Health could put you on the road to recovery without you ever stepping out the door.

The St. Louis-based health care system officially launched its "virtual visits" program last month for residents of Missouri, Southern Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma after a soft rollout in February.

The web-based service offers treatment for acute, nonurgent medical conditions. Patients create an online profile and fill out a questionnaire about their medical history and symptoms. Within an hour, they receive a video chat or phone call from an SSM nurse practitioner.

"A lot has been done with virtual health and telehealth across the region," said Erin Powell, the system director of retail health for SSM. "But no one else in St. Louis is doing this kind of acute care visit platform."

UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest commercial health insurer, offers a virtual visit program that is available only to its clients and uses third-party providers, the telemedicine apps Doctor on Demand and Amwell.

SSM's program can be accessed regardless of insurance, for a cost of $25 per virtual visit. Anyone 18 and older can create an account; children's visits must be completed by a parent or guardian.

If a prescription is needed, it's called in to a pharmacy. For patients who are directed to their primary physician or urgent care for further treatment, no fee is charged.

The service can be used for people ages 2 to 75, unless they have a pre-existing condition such as cancer or HIV or are taking immunosuppression drugs.

"We were very purposeful in making the decision of what is the appropriate patient to see with this care," said Powell. She stressed that the program could be an alternative to urgent care but is not meant to replace the role of a primary care physician.

But it allows common ailments such as the flu, colds, bladder infections and pink eye to be addressed without requiring a trip to a physician's office or urgent care center.

"One of the things that isn't considered is how much transportation and mobility in health care affects treatment," Powell said. "This is a convenient service for people who would struggle to get care otherwise, including patients in rural communities. We're trying to close the loop on health care."

Since February, about 150 patients a month have accessed SSM's virtual visit program in the St. Louis region.

"I really do like that they're getting skin in the game, because the fact of the matter is it improves health care access," said Janine Garcy of the Heartland Telehealth Resource Center, an agency based out of the University of Kansas Medical Center. "It helps the patient save time and travel costs. They can avoid missing work and school."

Heartland offers free assistance to smaller health care providers in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma to implement or expand telehealth services in rural and underserved areas.

Garcy said that telemedicine options have expanded as doctors and patients have become more comfortable with technology and insurers have broadened their reimbursement policies.

Virtual visits are among the newer platforms in telemedicine. Research done last year by JAMA Internal Medicine found that there were six virtual care visits per 1,000 customers with private health insurance, up from virtually zero in 2008.

"Someday we're just going to call telemedicine health care. It's just a different way of providing it," she said. "It's done a great job of improving access."

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