Wheel Launches Next Generation of its Virtual Care Platform, Mobilizing the Growing Consumer-Centric Care Movement

With 2 in 3 of people agreeing that virtual care can address challenges within the healthcare system, including limited access and high costs, Wheel's enhanced technology enables organizations to deliver convenient, personalized, and comprehensive virtual care

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wheel, the leading virtual care platform empowering companies to deliver consumer-centric care, today announced the next generation of its virtual care platform to help enterprise organizations build seamless care experiences. The company is catalyzing on growing consumer interest to proactively address their health needs with virtual care — including with organizations outside the traditional healthcare system.

According to a recent Wheel study of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, nine in ten people who have used virtual care in the last year plan to continue doing so. In fact half report that engaging in virtual care has encouraged them to seek preventive care that they wouldn't have otherwise. Meanwhile respondents also said they're open to receiving virtual care from nontraditional healthcare providers — for example, 2 in 3 people said they're open to trying virtual care from a retail drugstore chain. These findings come as more types of companies are developing virtual care strategies, empowering consumers to be more proactive with their health, and choosing virtual care services designed with their experience in mind.

"Consumerization of care is here," said Wheel CEO and co-founder Michelle Davey. "People have made it clear they're placing a higher value on their health and they're demanding healthcare experiences that make it easy to get care on their terms. Consumer-driven companies recognize the opportunity but have been held back — delivering at scale is a heavy lift and existing technology has made it challenging to build convenient, personalized, and comprehensive virtual care programs. That's why we've invested in the next generation of our platform to deliver on the true promise of consumer-centric care, empowering enterprise organizations that are motivated to rewire the healthcare experience."

Wheel's Platform Powers Consumer-Centric Virtual Care Experiences

Wheel enables enterprise organizations looking to grow their virtual care offering, drive engagement and loyalty, and deliver high-quality virtual care at scale. In just three years, the company has delivered care to over four million people, built a customer portfolio of leading digital health brands such as GoodRx, and is powering large enterprises and Fortune 50 companies in retail, health plan, and pharmaceutical and life science industries, including as a third-party provider for Amazon Clinic.

Wheel's platform incorporates configurable virtual care programs, a seamless consumer experience, and a nationwide clinician network — providing organizations with everything they need to deliver:

• Convenient virtual care: With Wheel's patented smart routing and marketplace technology, consumers will be matched with the right clinicians when and where they feel most comfortable receiving care across chat, phone, and video visits. Wheel's virtual care platform supports 24/7 virtual visits across all 50 states with industry-leading response times, connecting clinicians with consumers in minutes.
• Personalized virtual care: From the first intake to follow-up, Wheel provides a virtual care experience that meets consumers' needs and expectations. Clinicians are also set up for success with clinical tools built from the ground up to support simple, personalized workflows including requesting lab orders, ordering prescriptions and diagnostics, sharing education materials, requesting follow-up appointments, recommending referrals to specialists, and more. Accordingly, an industry-high 93% of Wheel clinicians report high satisfaction with delivering care via Wheel's EMR.
• Comprehensive virtual care: Launch integrated virtual care experiences that can be easily configured, deployed, and optimized with Wheel's library of proven care programs across Urgent Care, Primary Care, Convenience Care, and Condition Management. Wheel also ensures a connected care experience for consumers through the seamless integration of customers' existing partners as well as Wheel's pre-integrated ecosystem partners.

New Survey Shows Consumer Interest in Virtual Care Provides Growing Opportunity to Build Loyalty and Engagement 

Wheel's recent study demonstrates that consumers are placing a higher value on their wellness while expressing continued frustration with our healthcare system. At the same time, virtual care is the clear solution to make it easier for people to be more proactive with their health.

• Consumers overwhelmingly see virtual care as a clear solution to address many of the challenges with the U.S. healthcare system. Overall 92% expressed at least one complaint with healthcare, and of that group, 67% believe virtual care can improve limited access to care and 66% said it can help reduce high costs.
• Convenience factors were by far the most influential drivers for satisfaction with virtual care — including 71% who say virtual care saves them time, 51% who appreciate not having to leave their home, and 32% who reported access to care was influential since there were no healthcare providers or appointments available in their area.
• A majority of consumers (52%) report that virtual care has motivated them to seek preventive care, and in fact 37% openly admit that they've chosen to not see a healthcare provider for a health concern because it required them to go in person.
• Considering consumer confidence with virtual care's ability to provide a convenient and cost-effective way to receive care, people also expressed strong interest in receiving virtual care from nontraditional healthcare providers across a wide variety of industries:
  • 67% of healthcare consumers are open to a retail drugstore chain providing them with virtual care services – with an additional 8% who don't have an opinion.
  • 72% would be open to a health insurer providing them with virtual care services – with an additional 9% who don't have an opinion.
  • 57% would be open to a pharmaceutical manufacturer providing them with virtual care services – with an additional 10% who don't have any opinion.
  • 48% would be open to a large retailer providing them with virtual care services – with an additional 9% that don't have an opinion.

To learn more about Wheel and the next generation of its virtual care platform, visit wheel.com/companies/virtual-care-platform

To learn more about Wheel's virtual care study, visit join.wheel.com/consumer-centric-care-survey

About Wheel

Wheel is the leading virtual care platform empowering companies to deliver consumer-centric care. We provide enterprise organizations with proven solutions to grow their virtual care offering, drive engagement and loyalty, and deliver high-quality virtual care at scale. This includes configurable virtual care programs, a seamless consumer experience, and a nationwide clinician network. To learn more about Wheel, visit wheel.com.

SOURCE Wheel