Healthcare is forever changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One noticeable and significant area of change is the rapid deployment of telemedicine and the general consensus is that large scale use of telemedicine is here to stay. Now we need to ask ourselves: how do we provide telemedicine intelligently post-pandemic and expand telehealth services to fit into the rapidly changing healthcare environment?
Prior to COVID-19, most healthcare organizations were slow to broadly adopt telemedicine despite demand from informed patients for these technologies. At some hospitals, leadership invested in telemedicine but saw low adoption by physicians for a variety of reasons including low levels of reimbursement and insurance coverage. Without physicians promoting telemedicine services, patients remained mostly unaware of the options available.
For a new healthcare technology to be adopted, it must provide value across the healthcare ecosystem – patients, physicians, health systems and payors. Our healthcare system rapidly evolved with COVID-19 and today telemedicine allows organizations maintain access to care, keep staff safe, and stay in business. Compounded with changes to CMS reimbursement rules, HIPAA requirements, and state licensure requirements, telemedicine usage has taken off. While we are unsure at this time whether some of these regulatory changes are here to stay, we can be sure that telemedicine is.
At the beginning of the pandemic, healthcare organizations found themselves in one of two positions. Either as an early adopter of telemedicine and had technologies and processes in place, or as one of the many healthcare organizations who started from scratch and implemented a telemedicine solution in a few days or weeks.
If you find yourself in the situation where you rapidly implemented a telemedicine solution, you’ll soon want to step back and reevaluate. What is your strategic vision for telemedicine at your organization, and is your current solution in alignment with that vision? Do the services and features you want to offer expand beyond video visits? Did you choose the correct telehealth vendor? Does your solution integrate with your EHR? Did you provide your staff with appropriate education and change management tools? If you have not established what your organizational goals are related to telehealth, it’s likely your telehealth programs will struggle post-pandemic.
If you were lucky enough to have had telemedicine technology and processes in place, you still may want to ask how you can leverage telehealth to advance other organizational goals. Many organizations bought additional laptops for those working from home – can these be redeployed for telehealth or mobile solutions? Maybe outpatient clinics are closing – can you repurpose excess space as remote monitoring or telehealth centers? Can you couple wearable device integration with video visits to expand the specialties that use telemedicine? Revisit your overall telehealth strategy and ensure it aligns with expected organizational changes that will come post-pandemic.
Patients are now more informed on which telehealth services are available so patient demand for these services will be a driving factor. Because you offered video visits and messaging with clinicians during the pandemic, patients will expect these services to continue.
Figuring out how telehealth fits into your post-pandemic reality will be difficult. As you navigate the new norm of telehealth, stay informed on announcements like Epic’s native video visit platform powered by Twilio or Nuance’s ambient voice technology for telehealth.
If you would like to discuss how Divurgent can help evaluate your current telehealth technology or processes, please reach out.
