Primary Care at a Crossroads: How Telehealth Can Improve Access and Experience

In recent years, the primary care landscape has become increasingly strained. Patients face longer wait times and fragmented experiences moving between different providers and specialists. This trend is happening at the same time as patients' expectations are evolving. They are looking for greater flexibility and digital options, along with the ability to get same-day care without disrupting their day, taking time off work, or finding childcare.

Meanwhile, primary care physicians feel increasingly stretched thin, their schedules filled with visits that could often be managed in simpler, more efficient ways. Under the traditional primary model, health systems are constrained by space limits - there are only so many office parks that meet key standards for primary care clinics.

At Ascension, we believe a patient-centered, sustainable future for primary care depends on integrating virtual care into the work of our providers. Achieving this goal would help ease many of the challenges patients and providers face.

Connected Primary Care Shows What's Possible

Earlier this year, Ascension launched Connected Primary Care, a team-based model that blends the skills of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), integrated technology, and streamlined workflows. The goal is better access to the right care at the right time, with fewer delays and care that meets patients where they are. This makes the entire healthcare system work better.

Instead of treating telehealth as a completely distinct type of care, we're building it into the core of our primary care practices. We believe virtual care is an effective way for our advanced practice providers to expand their reach and ultimately provide better healthcare access to their community.

For the most vulnerable - those with mobility issues, transportation barriers, or complex health needs - virtual care bridges the gap between in-person visits. It also makes it easier for patients to access same-day appointments for acute care, chronic condition check-ins, and mental health visits. For clinicians, more efficient scheduling tools and EHR integration make delivering virtual care smoother and more sustainable. It's a true win-win.

Our Connected Primary Care program in Indiana is proving that this model works:

• The program launched in February 2025 with one APRN covering two clinics, three days a week, through virtual care.
• In the program's first four months, the APRN completed 887 virtual visits-about 35 each week. Many of these visits replaced an in-person appointment, avoiding scheduling bottlenecks for the clinic and extra travel for patients.
• Detachment from fixed overhead costs of a traditional clinic allowed us to expand rapidly to a second site once initial volume goals were achieved.

This innovative approach helped our practices in Indiana nearly double the number of virtual visits per month. Building off this success, we are expanding the Connected Primary Care model to other ministry markets.

Making Telehealth Policy Permanent

Ascension's Connected Primary Care model demonstrates the high demand for telehealth among patients and its positive impact on clinical operations. We believe the future of primary care depends on greater integration with these digital care technologies. Federal policymakers can help accelerate these new care delivery models by making critical telehealth flexibilities permanent. The ongoing cycle of short-term renewals creates uncertainty and makes it harder for Ascension to build and sustain innovative virtual care programs.

The highest rates of telehealth use are among Medicaid and Medicare patients, meaning access is on the line for vulnerable populations. While it would be best for Congress to establish telehealth coverage permanently, if Congress does not extend these flexibilities by the end of September, millions will lose telehealth access. That would mean fewer options for vulnerable populations, more costly ER visits for manageable issues, longer travel times to see specialists and less access to care overall.

We have the evidence that virtual care is popular, effective, and bipartisan. Making federal telehealth flexibilities permanent would allow millions of patients to get care when and where they need it, while enabling providers like Ascension to keep innovating and shaping the future of primary care.