Opportunity

Seeing a primary care physician (PCP) urgently isn't always easy, especially if the practice is not close to where you work, you work long hours that are not conducive to daytime appointments, or you're not an established patient. 

When we started work on this project, one in five employees at Penn Medicine was visiting the emergency department (ED) each year, with a significant percentage qualifying as avoidable visits.

Self-insured employers like Penn Medicine are interested in reducing avoidable ED visits. Directing employees to higher-value care can improve satisfaction and outcomes, decrease unnecessary utilization, and reduce benefits costs.

Intervention 

Penn Medicine OnDemand (PMOD) is a fully scaled virtual telemedicine practice operated by Penn Medicine’s Center for Connected Care. Providers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

PMOD makes it easy for users to obtain care when they need it, regardless of physical location, using video visits. When an in-person, office-based appointment with a care provider is required, PMOD providers help users schedule an in-person appointment at a time and location that is convenient for them.

Impact 

In its first two years serving the 60,000 covered lives under the Penn Medicine insurance plan, PMOD conducted more than 7,200 clinical encounters, saved the health system over $1.5 million in avoidable ED or urgent care visits, saved employees over $425,000 in copays, and substantially increased the number of employees establishing primary care within Penn Medicine.

On January 1, 2020, PMOD began offering service to the general public. In March of that year, PMOD became a critical tool used by Penn Medicine to keep patients and providers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the outset of the pandemic, the team adapted in real-time to handle the increased volume – with daily calls skyrocketing from 50-60 to more than 400.