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Scheduling a doctor’s appointment is going to get harder.
One-third of Indiana physicians are retirement age, and the state’s doctor-to-patient ratio is already below the national average. By 2038, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis estimates Indiana will face a shortage of more than 7,000 physicians. In primary care—a practice area essential for illness prevention and care coordination—research suggests providers will only be able to cover 77 percent of Hoosiers’ needs.
Many people already find it difficult to access care. In one survey, 37 percent of Indiana adults faced delays accessing healthcare because of long wait times for appointments. Additionally, 2.8 million residents live in primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). These are places where there are more than 3,500 individuals in a specific population for every doctor serving that population.
Barriers to care can compound some of the most pressing health challenges in the state. For example, more than 14 percent of Indiana adults live with multiple chronic conditions. The right monitoring, lifestyle support, and treatment can substantially improve many of these conditions or, in some cases, help prevent them. But they typically require close coordination with providers, often across specialties, which can be difficult for patients to navigate without consistent primary care.
Instead, many patients who can’t access routine or preventive care seek treatment only when their health issues become severe. Emergency department use is 34 percent higher in Indiana than the national average. Delayed care can also result in trips to urgent care or hospitalizations that could have been prevented, driving up the cost of healthcare for patients—and their employers.
Making care convenient
Healthcare spending increases year after year, even as care remains challenging to access and population health frequently fails to improve. As a result, some Indiana employers are taking matters into their own hands.
Offered as a benefit alongside traditional insurance, employee health centers can accommodate up to 90 percent of a typical employee’s care needs. Bringing advanced primary care directly to the workforce sidesteps bottlenecks in the fee-for-service healthcare system. Easy access also encourages preventive care and early intervention before conditions become more costly to treat. In the past, the operational challenges of owning an onsite medical facility have limited the adoption of employee health centers, but more than 50 organizations in Indiana have found a new model that makes care just as convenient.
Marathon Health operates, staffs, and manages 19 advanced primary care network health centers across the state. Without an upfront capital investment, businesses, government organizations, and Taft-Hartley plans have joined the network, paying only for the care their employees use. Locations near where employees live and work make providers more accessible, and same- or next-day appointments are frequently available.
Even as physician shortages limit the time they can spend with patients in other settings, Marathon appointments last an average of 36 minutes. That care model also creates a better experience for providers. In an independent survey, 90 percent of Marathon Health employees said they feel they make a difference at work and have a sense of pride in what they accomplish. The organization has also become an employer of choice for doctors eager to practice medicine without the time constraints or high patient loads common in other care settings.
Providers can build relationships that consider the needs of the whole person, backed by additional services such as mental health, physical therapy, and occupational therapy frequently available onsite. The result is measurable improvement to employees’ health. On average, Marathon partners in Indiana have seen:
- 68 percent of visits focused on preventive care
- 88 percent of high-risk employees engaged in care
- 78 percent of engaged, at-risk members reduced their health risk
Higher engagement with primary care also translates to lower healthcare costs. Organizations partnering with Marathon in Indiana report an average of $3,100 in annual savings per engaged member in the first year. The benefit quickly pays for itself, with partners nationwide averaging 1.2x ROI in year one and 3.7x in year five. Even though physician shortages in Indiana are likely to persist, innovative employers are finding ways to expand access to care, improve population health, and lower healthcare costs.
Learn more about Marathon’s Indiana network and how local organizations have achieved 98 percent patient satisfaction for advanced primary care that helps control costs.
Marathon Health is a leading advanced primary care provider, partnering with employers, unions, and health plans to improve health for millions of Americans. With nationwide onsite, nearsite, and network health centers, and virtual primary care, Marathon delivers a value-based model that enhances the healthcare experience for members and providers, while driving meaningful cost savings for plan sponsors. Learn more at Marathon Health’s website.