Evaluating the responses to a Request for Proposal (RFP) is standard procedure for any organization looking to make an informed decision about their healthcare vendor. Responses to RFPs are an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast the benefits and services of varying providers, but knowing good answers from bad ones is difficult if you don't have a solid point of reference. Good responses should reflect actual outcomes and provide real-world examples. To get an idea of what to look for, here's a sneak peek of our response approach to some of the most standard RFP questions and prompts.

Question 1: Describe the patient experience

The patient experience begins before they even set foot in a Vera clinic. Our marketing teams work closely with your HR teams and organizational leaders to effectively communicate the benefits of Vera clinics prior to launch so that patients feel comfortable and excited to use their new clinic.

Better Clinics

Clinics are designed to be comfortable, warm, welcoming environments that foster collaboration between patients, providers, health coaches, and medical staff. We have positioned our clinics to represent the leading edge of healthcare and designed them to match.

No Wait & Longer Appointments

For scheduled appointments, there is no wait for patients. For acute visits, wait times average less than 5 minutes. Vera appointments position providers to spend 30 minutes to an hour with their patients, compared to a national average of just 7 minutes. Longer appointments allow for comprehensive discussions of all of a patient’s health issues and ensure providers can offer treatment plans that go beyond a simple prescription.

Empathetic Listening

All members of the Vera staff, including providers, health coaches, and medical staff, practice empathetic listening. Empathetic listening means that providers truly listen to a patient's health concerns. It allows patients and providers to form meaningful relationships, discuss goals and barriers to better health, and collaborate on personalized care plans.

Question 2: Describe your referral process

Vera uses data analytics to create a national database of high-value, low-cost, in-network providers. Using the information, providers refer patients to the most appropriate specialist for their needs. Vera providers partner with specialists to share comprehensive patient views to ensure continuity of care and a seamless patient experience.

Vera referrals are also highly coordinated for pre- and post-care so patients can properly prepare for their specialist appointment and get any necessary follow-up care they need once they’ve seen their specialist, greatly increasing the success of specialist visits.

Question 3: What is your approach to reporting?

The effectiveness of the Vera model is measured in outcomes and driven by data. We use predictive risk analytics, performance targets, and standard measures of quality care to measure the impact of our clinics. Data is regularly reviewed to ensure that those metrics align with our clinical practices. Here’s a sample of the types of reports we provide:

  • Engagement Metrics & Utilization Reports — Unique encounters, appointments per employee, visits with and without coaching, and primary reasons for visiting the clinic
  • Financial Impact — Metrics for financial performance, medical cost trends, and engaged patient net savings
  • Patient Satisfaction — Average satisfaction scores, status after first visits, purpose of clinic visits, and recommendations for Vera services
  • Claims-Based — Patient demographics by risk level, projected cost trends, claims results, and disease prevalence
  • Biometric Screening —a measure of overall patient health with lab tests such as total counts, averages, and abnormalities of all results
  • Disease Registries — Disease prevalence, uncoordinated care costs, and chronic conditions

Vera is also adept at creating custom reports that cater to the needs of individual organizations and unique populations.

Question 4: What is your value proposition to patients?

Comprehensive Care

  • Focus on prevention
  • All care offered in a single facility: primary, acute, coaching, occupational, prescriptions, referrals
  • Coordination between practitioners and health coaches, enabled by unique workflow designed to focus on the “whole person,” and identify and treat root cause issues
  • Coordination of care and data exchange with other in-network healthcare providers and referral services

Cost

  • No out-of-pocket cost or reimbursement

Convenience

  • Same day/next day appointments with convenient locations
  • 24/7 access to providers
  • Secure web portal for appointment scheduling, records, health management and information, and ongoing communication with providers
  • High satisfaction and engagement: ranging from 50-90% across our customer base

Question 5: What is the value proposition you provide to employers?

Cost Savings and Transparency

  • Proven cost savings in the first year of clinic operation (first year net savings of 5-15% of total healthcare spending)
  • Comparison of TPA claims pre-Vera and post-Vera provides direct data on hard cost savings
  • Simple, fixed-fee pricing and direct billing
  • Transparency on usage, statistics, and organizational health
  • Monthly reporting of clinic statistics, cost savings, and details on overall organizational health

Flexibility

  • Ability to flex services offered, to include things like disease state management, massage therapy, and physical therapy if needed
  • Custom-tailored programs developed to meet your specific needs
  • Provide some occupational health and workers’ compensation services for no additional PMPM charge

Better Employee Health

  • Additional benefits are less absenteeism and higher employee morale

Value proposition strengthens over time, as savings from waste transitions to savings from healthier individuals

At Vera, our RFP responses reflect real outcomes backed by data because better healthcare doesn't start with jargon and hyperbole, it starts with proven results. 

If you would like to learn more about APC, we recommend Advanced Primary Care: A Proven Value-Based Model That Drives Real Outcomes 

Back to blog