HealthJoy launches Virtual Primary Care in partnership with Teladoc

The two companies partnered last year with a focus on urgent care, mental health, and chronic care

HealthJoy is a healthcare navigation platform that aims to simplify the experience for employees by making it easier for them to understand, and use, their benefits. The goal is to drive benefits satisfaction, improve care outcomes, improve employee satisfaction, and reduce HR burden. 

Its suite of offerings includes adult and adolescent mental health, chronic care management, dermatology, employee assistance program services, musculoskeletal therapy, nutrition, tobacco cessation, and urgent care. Now, the company is adding primary care as well, through an expanded partnership with whole-person virtual care provider Teladoc Health.

"Virtual Primary Care has always been a part of our long-term vision. We’re in a unique position to support the one in three Americans who have little or no access to primary care. This is an important step in our journey to improve access to primary care and simplify benefits navigation to make it easier for employees to be healthy and well," Justin Holland, CEO and co-founder of HealthJoy, told VatorNews.

"Primary care is foundational in not only preventing health issues, but also managing chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Providing Virtual Primary Care allows us to provide a seamless member experience and deliver continuity of care–from prevention to chronic care and everything in between–all within the HealthJoy app."

Founded in 2014, HealthJoy has three core components, including benefits portfolio management, where it consolidates all benefits and vendor offerings in one place, and connects employees with the right benefits at the right time. HealthJoy provides real-time transparency into utilization, engagement, and cost savings. 

It also provides benefits delivery and engagement, where employers gain access to a set of tools and resources that make benefits delivery easier, includes 24/7 concierge support to answer benefits questions, self-service or on-demand care navigation and steerage, and custom employee communications via push notifications and in-app messages. 

Finally, there's its virtual care suite, through which HealthJoy users can add on from its virtual care suite to integrate musculoskeletal treatment, urgent care needs, mental health, chronic disease management, medical bill review, Rx savings, and more. 

With HealthJoy Virtual Primary Care, employees use the HealthJoy app to select a dedicated primary care provider, make an appointment, and sign-on to receive all traditional primary care services. If a follow-up is needed, HealthJoy seamlessly guides a member to the next step of their healthcare journey–all within a single, easy to navigate interface. 

"HealthJoy Virtual Primary Care provides easy, convenient access and a fully integrated virtual primary care experience to simplify continuity of care; guide users to high-quality, affordable care options; and support members through their entire healthcare journey. Unlike other solutions in the market, our solution keeps the virtual care experience fully within the HealthJoy app," said Holland. 

With HealthJoy Virtual Primary Care, new patients will spend 37% more time with their doctor to address their health concerns versus traditional in-person care. The average new patient visit lasts between 30 to 44 minutes with traditional in-person primary care. HealthJoy Virtual Primary Care provides new patients with 54 minutes with their doctor to address their healthcare concerns. 

"HealthJoy Virtual Primary Care is fully integrated into our benefits navigation platform. We consolidate an employer’s entire benefits package into a connected, holistic care ecosystem making it easier for employees to make better healthcare decisions by navigating them to high-quality, affordable care. The result is significant cost savings and happier, healthier employees," Holland explained. 

Healthjoy and Teladoc first announced their partnership in July of last year, with an initial focus on providing virtual urgent care, mental health, and chronic care services. Combining Teladoc Health’s virtual care suite and HealthJoy's care navigation platform has led to a 21.9% annualized utilization rate for telemedicine, compared to the industry average of 9%.   

So far, they'd had success delivering access to enterprise-level partner solutions, like Livongo, by Teladoc Health, and now HealthJoy Virtual Primary Care, to mid-market employers that historically have not had access to best-in-breed digital health solutions, Holland said.

"What Teladoc Health brings so much to the table as the global leader in whole-person virtual care. They have an expansive network of providers that are board-certified in family practice, internal medicine and related specialties," he explained.

"On top of that, they have experience building relationships with patients in a primary care setting. This experience has led to a 98% satisfaction score among participants. By combining Teladoc Health’s network with HealthJoy’s benefits navigation platform and proactive redirection, members can expect a top-of-the-line virtual care experience."