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The Future of Healthcare is Virtual: How Telehealth Technologies are Transforming Care Delivery

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Care Transformation Digital Technology and Analytics Healthcare Infographic

Telehealth by the Numbers

Adoption of telehealth technologies is growing as healthcare organizations look to lower costs and increase access to care.

76%

Hospitals have or will be implementing telehealth by 2018

69%

Organizations that plan to expand programs by 2018

20%

Consumers would switch to a provider that offers telemedicine visits

Of those organizations with telehealth programs in 2016:

  • Said patient satisfaction is the most important element of program success
    76%
  • Offer urgent care/emergency department services
    61%
  • Offer primary care, internal medicine and pediatrics
    61%
  • Offer psychiatric services
    49%
  • Focus on readmission prevention
    45%
  • Offer chronic condition management/monitoring
    42%
1M

Virtual doctor visits

48%

Large employers offering telemedicine

57.7%

Healthcare organizations with telehealth technologies

Telehealth Helps Healthcare Organizations

Manage chronic diseases.

Address the medical needs of an aging population.

Reach underserved populations.

Respond to consumers' demands for convenience and proximity of service.

Telehealth Defined

  • Telehealth Clinical care delivered remotely and virtual tools used for consumer education or to track wellness.
  • Telemedicine Refers to clinical care delivered remotely.

Telehealth Services

There are many telehealth services available, each one enables healthcare organizations to improve the quality of care in a different way.

  • Video conference: A live visit between a patient and a health professional or a consultation between health professionals.
  • Store and forward: The transmission of digital information (e.g., imaging) to another health professional for a consultation/evaluation.
  • Remote patient monitoring: The collection and transmission of health and medical data (e.g., blood pressure and glucose test results) to a physician.
  • Mobile health and education: The information provided to patients via mobile apps and devices.

Telehealth Challenges

Despite its growing popularity, telemedicine must overcome these obstacles to gain widespread adoption.

  • Regulations State laws regarding reimbursement rates vary significantly.
  • Credentialing across state lines is complex Only 22 states are part of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact that facilitates the licensure of physicians across state lines.
  • Funding for program development Grants are available for rural healthcare programs, but funding a program entirely on grants can be precarious due to government budgets.

Telehealth Success

Here are a few examples of the ways telehealth provides cost savings and improves the quality of care.

  • Diabetes Management
  • Remote Inpatient Monitoring
  • Remote Post-Discharge Monitoring
  • Virtual Sitters
  • The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Diabetes Telehealth Network provided real-time remote care to 100 diabetes patients as part of a pilot program.

    96%

    patients took their medications as directed

    83%

    patients kept their scheduled telehealth appointments

    $339,000

    in true healthcare costs saved

  • Mercy Virtual Care Center provides remote support for intensive-care units, emergency rooms and other programs in 38 smaller hospitals.

    35%

    decrease in patients' average length of stay

    30%

    fewer deaths than anticipated

  • A 90-day transitional telemonitoring services for underserved COPD and heart failure patients who had been discharged from acute care utilization.

    50%

    reduction in 30-day readmission rates

    ~16%

    decrease in 180-day readmission rates

  • Mission Health's neuroscience staff continuously monitor patients via an infrared camera.

    1.32 fewer falls

    fall rate fell from 4.77 to 3.45 (baseline to implementation)

    $250,000

    reduction in fall related costs

Key Takeaways

  • Think differently Virtual care is a part of the future of healthcare. Identify ways to use it for your benefit by meeting the demands of your existing patients or using it to expand your service area to attract new patients.
  • Plan differently Develop innovative care delivery models that will support your organization's efforts to shift care to value-driven growth models.
  • Act differently Transform the health of your community by implementing telehealth services that increase patients' access to care and help them better manage their care.

Sources:

  • www.hhnmag.com/articles/8350-telehealth-adoption-to-double-by-2018
  • www.americanwell.com/press-release/one-in-five-consumers-would-switch-to-a-doctor-that-offers-telehealth-visits/
  • www.businessinsider.com/telemedicine-could-dramatically-reduce-health-care-costs-2016-6
  • www.wsj.com/articles/how-telemedicine-is-transforming-health-care-1466993402
  • www.healthcaredive.com/news/himss-analytics-releases-2015-telemedicine-study/405500/
  • www.himssanalytics.org/news/telemedicine-adoption-growing-35-annually-2014
  • www.medscape.com/viewarticle/883562
  • www.aha.org/content/17/17-ms-university-mississippi-remote-monitoring.pdf
  • www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160210/NEWS/160219999

Related Work

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    Technology innovations related to data, artificial intelligence, consumer choice from Apple, Amazon, Google, IBM & Microsoft could disrupt healthcare delivery.

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