Inside Digital Health January 20, 2020
One of the most severe consequences of the ongoing difficulties with specialty care access is a substantial increase in wait times among patients seeking a specialist appointment. The increase in appointment wait times increases the risk of avoidable complications and shifts the healthcare industry from proactive to reactive care, which is less effective and more costly for all parties involved. Further, while waiting for appointments, patients often seek care in less appropriate and more costly settings such as the emergency room—and indeed, a recent study notes that as many as 71% of emergency room visits are unnecessary and avoidable.
Efforts to streamline delivery of care have spurred an increasing prevalence of value-based payment arrangements, and primary care—the linchpin and front...
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