It’s no secret that when businesses offer health care benefits, their employees are more productive, better engaged and are more likely to remain with the company. Because such outcomes help bottom lines, and even company performance on the stock market, more business leaders today view health care benefits as an investment in human capital as opposed to merely a burdensome cost.

With the normalizing of virtual health care technology—out of necessity, its engagement rose significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic—wellness benefits are now more accessible to employees and less expensive for companies to provide. Combining these advantages, employers’ top priority in health care this past year was to implement more virtual solutions.

However, some patients who engage with virtual health care feel as though their experience with the provider on the other side of their smartphone, tablet or personal computer was impersonal and transactional. Other issues for users include an inability to see the same doctor on a repeat basis, which discourages the development of a strong doctor-patient relationship.

Yet Accolade, a virtual primary-care provider, believes it has developed a platform that addresses these limitations. Its advanced primary-care model encourages a relationship with a provider across preventative, urgent and chronic care, with the convenience of a virtual setting. Moreover, Accolade has integrated mental health care into its system, with an Accolade care team and medical and mental health providers all connected to patient cases. This is an important feature for companies given that 80% of workers looking for jobs say that the way their prospective employers support their employees’ mental health will be a top consideration in their searches.

“We believe that health care is a human experience and that’s why we’ve been really intentional in creating Accolade Care, to have a strong, human-centered component,” said Jessie Donaho, senior director of solutions management at Accolade. “As part of this, we don’t separate physical well-being from emotional well-being. Instead, we see how they inform each other.”

Donaho joined Accolade team members for a From Day One webinar, “Embracing Virtual Primary Care Benefits for Employee Wellness,” where she offered these remarks. Donaho said that in Accolade’s interactions with businesses, it became clear that employers “don’t just want the digital system that we’re all familiar with in the brick-and-mortar environment,” but one that offers equitable access, quality and affordability. Accolade’s solution combines primary care, featuring a dedicated relationship with a provider across an array of health care services, with targeted outreach for personalized care and coordinated support from a multidisciplinary care team that includes health coaches, nurses, and other personnel.

Accolade pulls this off by allowing patients to choose a specific physician as their primary-care provider, view available benefits during a clinical encounter, and request mental health services with a single click. With this model in place, Accolade says 40% of members select a primary care provider after their first visit and 48% have repeat visits. Accolade members take advantage of the easy access to mental health care services: more than a fifth of all virtual visits with doctors address mental health concerns.

Anupam Goel, M.D., Accolade’s senior medical director, shared details of an Accolade patient journey with the From Day One audience, that of a woman who lives with lupus. Her condition was so dire that she was experiencing delusions, but with the convenience and access of the virtual setting, the woman was able to engage with a series of care providers, including a primary physician, psychiatrist and therapist. The woman was able to develop some stress-reduction techniques and coping mechanisms to help her manage her lupus symptoms.

“She was thrilled [with her care],” said Goel. “I think she avoided multiple ER visits and a potential mental health hospitalization by managing her conditions at home, with frequent check-ins by different members of the care team.”

Cases like these highlight the potential time away from work that is saved with access to health care, especially the kind that employees feel comfortable exploring, with provider familiarity and easy access. And when employees take a proactive approach to their health—something Accolade works to promote with what the company calls its “wraparound” approach to care—they spend less money on specialists. Accolade reports such savings have reached 33% on average for the platform’s users.

If better, more holistic and cost-effective health care for an increased number of workers is the goal for mindful employers responding to talent demands in a volatile market, advanced telehealth services provided by companies such as Accolade are winning solutions.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner Accolade for sponsoring this webinar.

Michael Stahl is a New York City-based freelance journalist, writer, and editor. You can read more of his work at MichaelStahlWrites.com, follow him on Twitter @MichaelRStahl, and order his first book, the autobiography of Major League Baseball pitcher Bartolo Colón, at Abrams Books.