Provider Super Power #4: Required, structured renewal visits and ongoing follow-up care

Ro is building the future of healthcare by leveraging technology. We see that future as one in which technology empowers providers to deliver high-quality care and empowers patients to manage their health more easily and effectively.

In our Provider “Super Power” series, we take a deep dive into the tech-enabled solutions that are designed and built by Ro’s in-house clinical and engineering teams. These solutions empower providers — physicians, nurses, and pharmacists — to deliver the best possible care, experience, and results for patients on Ro’s telehealth platform. We call these “super powers” because they supercharge a provider’s ability to deliver high-quality care.

Providers on Ro’s platform are enabled to provide safe and appropriate care on an ongoing basis for patients through required, structured renewal and follow up visits. In this article, we’ll take a look at how Ro helps providers deliver ongoing continuous care to patients throughout their treatment journey with Ro.

Every patient who receives treatment through the Ro platform is required to complete scheduled and structured renewal visits. These free renewal visits can occur from every month to every 11 months according to their provider’s preference and based on the patient’s goals and health needs. This helps ensure continued safe and appropriate treatment. Outside of these required renewal visits, follow-up visits can be ongoing and happen at any time— either the provider or patient can check in by secure message whenever needed and, if desired, also schedule a phone or video call any time they want for a follow-up appointment.

Just like with Ro’s initial Online Visits, renewal visits on Ro’s platform are developed to ensure providers have the information they need to evaluate if continued treatment is safe and appropriate. For example, patients are asked for an updated medical history, about the efficacy and tolerability of the medication they are taking, and if they have any questions for their provider.

With all of the barriers that exist — to getting that first appointment with a provider (e.g. time, cost, travel), it’s no wonder that many patients skip or delay follow up visits. Patients may not believe a question, a side effect, or a health concern warrants a provider’s attention or justifies their own time and the financial expense of an in-person visit. But in clinical care, follow up visits are essential touchpoints between a patient and a provider. It is when information on efficacy or side effects is gathered. Only armed with data can a provider continue to tailor treatment — treatment that is both safe and appropriate for an individual patient.

Follow-up visits are an important part of continued access to healthcare and continuity of care, and Ro’s platform makes follow-up easy and seamless for both patients and providers. By reducing the friction patients experience in connecting with a provider, requiring they have regular updates, and standardizing data collection across check-ins based on leading medical protocols and expertise, we are empowering providers to provide high-quality treatment throughout the patient’s treatment journey.