Blue Shield of California has announced a collaboration with booking platform Zocdoc to allow members to schedule in-network, in-person and virtual care appointments directly on the nonprofit health plan's online member portal.
Blue Shield members can see real-time availability of providers and access more than 1 million hours of bookable appointments available over a 90-day window through the plan's Find a Doctor tool.
Zocdoc said this is the first time it is working with a health plan on scheduling through its online portal.
It is available for members seeking care from Blue Shield's network of primary care and specialists in vision, dental, mental and behavioral health who are active in Zocdoc.
Appointments are available for members across all Blue Shield of California employer-sponsored plans, individual and family plans, and Medicare.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Digital tools are seen as a way to address scheduling barriers, especially for younger patients.
Seventy-two percent of millennial and Gen Z survey respondents, compared to 39% of baby boomers, prefer online scheduling, according to a 2021 Press Ganey report.
A 2023 report from Kyruus Health shows that 61% of consumers say the availability of online appointment scheduling is extremely or very important when choosing a new provider, service or location for care.
A Zocdoc-commissioned survey found that more than half of patients who were unable to reach their doctor by phone admitted to delaying care (54%), while one in three admitted to giving up on scheduling a visit entirely (33%).
THE LARGER TREND
Provider competition demands that online patient scheduling be a must-have feature, according to Forbes.
The 2021 Consumer Experience Trends in Healthcare report from Press Ganey found that patients rely on digital sources more than twice as much as doctor referrals when choosing a primary care provider.
Consumers are increasingly used to the convenience of a digital experience such as what they get from Amazon.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org