Virtual health: How, when and where patients need care

Business Journals

12-05-2025

Aurora Health Care is committed to meeting Wisconsin patients where, when and how they need health care through its expanded virtual health and virtual primary care programs.
In early 2025, Aurora launched its Virtual Primary Care program, enabling patients to connect via video calls with a physician who will be there throughout their continuum of care. Enhanced capabilities allow for sick care, common health concerns, chronic conditions, medication management and more to be conducted virtually.
When a virtual visit shows that in-person care is needed for lab work, physicals and screenings, Aurora's virtual primary care team coordinates follow-up care at a convenient nearby location. Aurora offers convenient same-day primary care appointments and e-visits for adults and children seven days a week.
Many clinicians are leaning into virtual care, recognizing its potential to improve patient outcomes and increase efficiency. More than 8,400 clinicians across Advocate Health provide virtual care across 40 unique specialties. Aurora Health Care is part of Advocate Health, the nation's third-largest nonprofit health care system.
'What makes Aurora Health Care's virtual health capabilities stand out is not only do we offer the benefits of virtual care, but when in-person care is necessary, we have the brick-and-mortar hospitals and clinics and can seamlessly welcome patients into locations nearest to them for the care the care they need,' said Dr. Matthew C. Anderson, medical director of virtual health for Advocate Health.
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Another important feature of Aurora's virtual health services is that it delivers the same level and often an enhanced quality of care. For instance, managing chronic conditions like diabetes becomes more efficient with regular virtual check-ins. Instead of multiple in-person visits each year, patients can now do most follow-ups online and come into the clinic only when absolutely necessary. Behavioral health also sees profound benefits. Patients can attend therapy sessions from the privacy of their homes and receive medication adjustments without the need for an office visit.
Rural health care has seen a major boost from virtual care. In areas outside of Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, patients often face long drives to access care. Virtual health bridges this gap. In 2024 alone, Aurora Health Care completed over 16,000 virtual visits in Wisconsin. Across the broader Advocate Health network, more than 2 million virtual visits were conducted, with 100,000 serving rural patients. This highlights how virtual care isn't just a convenience, but serves as a lifeline for communities with limited access to health care facilities.
The shift toward telehealth has been driven by the evolving needs of patients and Advocate Health's strategic organizational vision to make health care more accessible, personalized, and flexible. Aurora Health Care was an early adopter of the power of virtual care. Since 2018, Aurora's Quick Care program has provided virtual on-demand care to patients from a dedicated care team available 24/7 for common, non-urgent symptoms.
The COVID-19 pandemic also served as a catalyst for the rapid adoption of virtual health. While the trend was already on the rise, the urgency of the pandemic pushed clinicians, health systems, and patients to embrace virtual visits out of necessity. What started as a solution for a crisis has evolved into a permanent feature of the health care landscape with significant benefits for both patients and clinicians.
Aurora is continuing its work to expand virtual care by developing the necessary infrastructure to support telehealth, but also through additional programs and services, including pediatrics and weight loss management.
'Ultimately, virtual health isn't about replacing in-person care, it's about expanding options. We want to ensure that whether a patient connects virtually or visits in person, they receive the same high standard of care. Our comprehensive approach is patient-focused, flexible, and allows us to provide quality care to patients everywhere,' said Anderson.
To find your doctor, schedule a virtual appointment, and learn more about Aurora's virtual health offerings, go to aurora.org.