From the March 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Reducing hospital readmissions
Using telehealth technology to remotely monitor patients with chronic conditions has been shown to reduce hospital readmissions and avoid the penalties associated with high readmission rates. The Veterans Health Administration, for example, reports that its post-cardiac arrest telehealth program resulted in a 51 percent reduction in hospital readmissions for heart failure.
Avoiding unnecessary expenses
The Arizona Burn Center is one example of improved care (faster diagnosis and treatment) through telemedicine with the side benefit of cost savings. In some cases, the Phoenix-based burn center can determine that patients can be treated locally, instead of flying them to Phoenix by helicopter, which costs $10,000 to $20,000. TeleICU programs are another example, often allowing patients who would have been transferred to a larger health care center to stay in their community hospitals and keep the revenue local. A 2014 study by Craig M. Lilly, M.D., et al., published in Chest Journal, looked at 118,990 patients from 56 ICUs in 32 hospitals from 19 U.S. health care systems, and found that implementation of teleICU is associated with significantly lower mortality and shorter lengths of stay in both the ICU and hospital.
Partnering with a large health care system or a telemedicine service provider company is a cost-effective way for hospitals (and other entities such as clinics, nursing homes, correctional facilities and schools) to provide needed, on-demand specialists such as neurologists, cardiologists or rheumatologists without having to hire full-time providers to provide 24/7 coverage. The Arizona Telemedicine Program and Southwest Telehealth Resource Center offer two resources to help health care decision-makers find teleprovider partners. One is an online, searchable directory of telemedicine and telehealth service providers at http://telemedicine.arizona.edu/servicedirectory. The second is the Telemedicine & Telehealth Service Provider Showcase, coming again to Phoenix, June 21-22, 2016 (http://ttspsworld.com/).
Insurers and employers are turning to telemedicine as well, and are partnering with telemedicine service provider companies to offer their customers or employees convenient health care from kiosks, computers or personal devices while saving money by avoiding unnecessary and costly trips to the emergency department or urgent care.
About the author: Nancy Rowe joined the Arizona Telemedicine Program in 2014 as associate director for outreach. She directed the award-winning telemedicine program at Northern Arizona Regional Behavioral Health Authority from 2001 through 2013 and is the past chair of the American Telemedicine Association’s Business and Finance Special Interest Group.Back to HCB News
