First Stop Health Helps Patients Throughout COVID-19 Pandemic with Speedy, Convenient, Safe Access to Virtual Care

Since the pandemic started, leading virtual care company members increased 49%, telemedicine visits grew 86% and employer-clients achieved 134% ROI to lower healthcare costs.

March 10, 2022 (Chicago) – It has been 2 years since the COVID-19 pandemic started. During that time, First Stop Health (FSH) has helped to keep patients safe with convenient, fast and affordable virtual access to care for physical and mental well-being support. FSH Telemedicine was a critical tool for patients during this time, who received 24/7 access to virtual doctors that connected with patients within 12 minutes (on average) – including peak months where visits increased as much as 46% compared with the prior month. 

A few months after the pandemic started, FSH introduced Virtual Mental Health to its employer-clients. Now, more than half of FSH members have access to Virtual Mental Health, which virtually connects patients with mental health counselors for 24/7 access to care for anxiety, stress, depression, substance use, work and family concerns, and more. 

“We are focused on delivering care that people love. Ensuring our patients had access to convenient care from the comfort of their home and avoiding potential COVID exposures from in-person care settings was a true focus for us these past 2 years,” said Blaine Barnett, CEO at FSH.  “Launching Virtual Mental Health during the early stage of the pandemic was a key healthcare resource for members, as our clients were eager to make it available for their employees.” 

FSH helped its employer-clients save on healthcare costs by diverting in-person medical visits to emergency rooms, urgent care centers and other medical offices. Since March 2020, FSH clients achieved an average 134% return on investment (ROI).  

“We are so happy to see our clients routinely achieve real, hard-dollar healthcare savings with our highly utilized virtual services,” said Dr. Eric Bricker, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Growth Officer at FSH. “The pandemic has rapidly accelerated virtual care adoption and helped businesses see virtual care as an investment and a key component of a complete employee benefits strategy.”  

A recent study indicates patients will continue to use virtual care because of its convenience and simple experience. According to the study, patients are also interested in more ‘virtual-first’ solutions, comparable to FSHs recently launched Virtual Primary Care service. 

Announced earlier this year, Virtual Primary Care includes whole-person, digital-first care for urgent, preventive and chronic health issues. Virtual Primary Care members can schedule virtual visits with a preferred doctor from within the FSH virtual group practice. FSH doctors are available to consult with patients and coordinate care for labs, imaging and procedure orders, manage medications, refer patients to in-network specialists and provide care follow-up. Plus, virtual visits with FSH doctors are capitated, run outside the health plan and incur no medical claims. 

To learn more about First Stop Health, visit www.fshealth.com. 

About First Stop Health 

First Stop Health provides care that people love®. Patients can access virtual care 24/7 via app, website or phone. We help them save time and money with safe, convenient, high-quality virtual care solutions – Telemedicine, Virtual Mental Health and Virtual Primary Care. FSH drives the utilization of our virtual care solutions with continuous, targeted member engagement, delivers an amazing patient experience and ensures high-value, client performance. 

Media Contact 

Nick Severino | VP, Marketing | First Stop Health 

888-691-7867 x-410 | nseverino@fshealth.com