Telehealth Transition Addressed Through Multistage Solution

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

As they see the world become increasingly mobile, your clients will be looking to address their telehealth needs in systematic ways. Doing this will require an understanding of not only telehealth technology, but also how particular patient demographics respond to various solutions.

Managed services provider, Logicalis Healthcare Solutions believes that much of the differentiation in patient use of telehealth will be generation-dependent. They agree with research that says that adult patients are more comfortable with traditional, face-to-face and telephone interactions, while younger generations (millennials) prefer digital solutions.

According to Ed Simcox, Logicalis Healthcare Solutions healthcare practice leader, “Today’s digital natives expect to interact online with service providers — including their physicians — with the same convenience they experience ride-sharing via Uber or booking a vacation room via Airbnb. To remain relevant, healthcare providers must capitalize on these expectations by providing fully integrated telehealth solutions. Those providers that haven’t begun catering to the younger patient demographic using telehealth are already falling behind.”

The Three-Stage Telehealth Model

To address these needs, Logicalis has evaluated healthcare providers, and determined that most find themselves in one of three stages along the telehealth transformation journey:

• Stage 1: An ad-hoc solution created to support “the narrow, urgent need of a small group of clinicians and patients”
• Stage 2: A departmental telehealth strategy that is rational, standardized and program-based
• Stage 3: A clinically-integrated solution that facilitates advanced data exchange between patients, providers, labs, pharmacies, and familial caregivers

Types Of Healthcare Solutions

Logicalis also categorizes the more than 30 service lines that are currently delivered via telehealth on a regular basis. Those categories include:

• Synchronous: Live, bi-directional and video based interactions between patient and provider. These include consultations, health education and training, health exams, and patient observation or monitoring in the ICU.
• Store And Forward: Involves the transmission of information including clinical results, imaged, patient portals, and education and training.
• Remote Monitoring: Involves the collection of health progress data and vital signs from chronically ill patients, as well as the process of transmitting that data to a provider in a different location.
• Mobile Health And Wellness: Using mobile devices to promote healthy behaviors, deliver reminders and alerts, and promote case management on a remote basis. Can include everything from monitoring vital signs to behavioral health assistance or diet and weight loss tips.

You can learn more about the Logicalis approach to healthcare IT and telehealth here.

To learn more about progress in the reimbursement of telehealth services, read “Telehealth Reimbursement Gets New Focus Via The Senate.”