The year 2020 has truly been unprecedented in so many ways. Every industry and country has been affected by this pandemic. Everything has changed globally from both a professional and social perspective. The general consensus is that many of these changes are going to stick around in some way. In fact, many people say that COVID-19 really accelerated the trajectory we were on anyway.
COVID-19 caused a massive personal reset on how we think about our lives, what’s important to us, what our priorities are, and how we can be as successful and satisfied (or perhaps more) by changing how we work. Everything from education to healthcare, real, financial services, and professional services has changed so much that now, for the first time, people actually understand what “digital transformation” really is.
Being able to connect with a health professional for consultations, reviews, and various other services has also changed. You can use a smartphone for heart rate, blood pressure, and visual observations, dramatically reducing the need for in-person office visits and thus increasing the coverage of a health professional. 
According to a 2017 American Well Survey, many people delay medical care due to cost (23%), the amount of time it takes to see a doctor (23%), their own busy schedules (13%), or because they think the problem will go away on its own (36%). The worst part about these statistics is that one-third of these patients were delaying serious care.
Luckily, two-thirds of consumers would be willing to see a healthcare professional over video, and that number is substantially increasing. Wait time is a major factor for why people are willing to make the switch.
On average, it takes 24 days for patients to be seen by doctors, and the average doctor visit takes 121 minutes. – ⅙ of that time is seeing the doctor, while the other ⅚ of the time is spent driving and waiting.
Compare that to a telehealth, where the health care professionals spend most of the time listening to the clients health concerns and you can see the time-saving benefit for a patient willing to switch to a remote visit.
Telehealth can also be friendly on a client’s budget. Much of the time, telehealth services cost the same or less than a traditional visit. Even with time and money saved on gas and hectic parking, clients see the benefit in remote health services.
According to American Well, patients resolved their healthcare concerns 85% of the time with telehealth compared to just 65% in a brick-and-mortar setting. So, not only do patients see telehealth as a service that they can save time and money but also as a more effective method than an in-person visit.
The pandemic has challenged and reshaped medicine like never before. We are witnessing a rapid reinvention of health & wellness presenting unique opportunities for the Functional Health Community to lead the field with new nutritional models and cutting-edge, personalized, lifestyle-based strategies to prevent and reverse chronic disease.
Starting in September 2021, Blueprint Functional Health offers its client base Telehealth services.
In office consultations and home visits are available.
