Think, for a second, of your typical, every day, run-of-the-mill primary care checkup experience: You call make an appointment (weeks out, btw), you finally go in, you wait (and wait) for the doctor to see you and then you wait even longer just to get the blood panels and test results back, days after your appointment.
It’s like, what’s even the point of going to see the doctor if you can’t be in the room to discuss your results?
It’s clear that, in a time when technology is evolving at an incredible rate and speeding up almost every aspect of our lives, a visit to the doctor for your annual checkup is still stuck firmly in the very slow past. And the kinds of tests your doctor runs when you come in for an exam that could take mere minutes instead take hours, or even days, to get results.
So, considering these advances in technology, why is the traditional healthcare system seemingly fine with being left in the dust?
A Lack of Incentive
At Forward, we believe it’s because traditional healthcare is a broken system, and providers have no incentive to fix it. The way annual, primary care checkups have always worked is, you give blood, you swab your cheek, and then your provider sends those materials out to a third party for testing. Although it’s thoroughly possible to speed that process up, doing so costs money. And so, the question becomes, why run tests in-house, using the latest technology when providers can simply outsource those tests and bill your insurance, who in turn passes the costs of those tests onto you?
In the end, providers stick with the tried-and-true: Keep things the way they are and don’t invest in the patient experience, because patients have very few options when it comes to how they receive their healthcare. After all, patients won’t really know the difference — they’ve been conditioned to see this imbalance as normal, and to not expect results back quickly.
But — surprise! — there’s a better way.
With Real-Time Results Come Real-Time Insights
For Forward, preventative primary care is built on the partnership between doctors and their patients. Psst — you want to know how to build that partnership strong? Start by making sure both your doctor, and perhaps more importantly, you, actually understand what’s great about your health, and what could use a little improvement.
And your blood draw is actually an incredibly critical piece of that puzzle. It helps your doctor understand your metabolic health, your heart health, whether you have high cholesterol or not, whether you’re at risk of having a blockage in your coronary artery or not. How are you supposed to talk about this stuff if you don’t find out what’s wrong until days later?
That’s why, at Forward, bloodwork is never outsourced to third parties — everything is done in-house, and it doesn’t cost members a dime. This way, results are returned in minutes, not two or three days like with other providers. That means that you and your Forward doctor can discuss your results in real-time, in the office or in a video consultation, giving you more complete insights into exactly where you are in your health journey.
Better, Faster Care
Bottom line is, traditional healthcare might be slow — slow at getting your results back to you, slow to change with the times — but it doesn’t have to be. What Forward has proven is, by putting its members first, technological innovations can be unlocked that not only provide care quicker than your average primary care provider, but which also allow our doctors to spend all that extra time focused only on you and how to make sure you’re achieving your health goals.
And if that sounds like something better, well, that’s because it is.
Get fast results, quick answers, and timely appointments with a Forward membership. Comprehensive primary care has never been this accessible, easy to manage, and focused on your unique biology and circumstances. We make taking control of your health easy, convenient, and affordable.