Jason Povio is President and Chief Operating Officer for Eagle Telemedicine and an expert in healthcare operational excellence.
Telemedicine, which enables access to care through a digital screen presence and supports EMR integration, is a potent force in driving digital transformation across the healthcare sector. The goal must remain that the clinician leads and technology enables. I believe this has to be the decade in which healthcare systems fully embrace the technology available to them, including telemedicine, to become more viable organizations and keep pace with growing patient needs and desires for high-quality access to care close to home.
It is a case of survival: Healthcare systems are in trouble. As PwC notes, digitizing healthcare is essential to re-establishing sound economic footing for healthcare providers. “Research shows we’re in the middle of a five-year, $1 trillion revenue shift away from traditional healthcare payers and providers. By 2030, we expect the sector to move into a new health ecosystem. We believe the greatest potential lies in embracing new roles as orchestrators, integrators and platform and solutions players in the health ecosystem,” PwC says.
With my experience in telemedicine, I find it will play a starring role in the shift to digitization. It supports the twin benefits of cost savings and increased revenue stream, by leveraging established technologies already in widespread use, such as data sharing via the cloud and internet communication. Telemedicine can also enable a hospital or healthcare system to extend physician coverage 24/7, offering specialty care and reaching those in underserved communities, resulting in improved patient retention and the ability to increase revenue. There is a dwindling supply and maldistribution of physicians that a successful adoption of telemedicine solves for, making it the great equalizer in healthcare.
Moving From Physical To Digital
To have the greatest success in telemedicine, a number of factors must be accounted for, ranging from technical details to the more subjective, emotional dynamics that occur between a patient and physician as the care happens.
Technology professionals use the term “end-to-end solution.” Think of telemedicine in the same way. The entire communication flow, from a hospital patient or a recently discharged patient to a tele-physician and staff, must be a smooth experience for all stakeholders. From the hospital’s perspective, the system needs to be able to communicate data and images at a speed and clarity that delivers a comfortable experience to the patient. In underserved communities, broadband connectivity is often lacking or inferior. These transmission issues must be addressed to provide comprehensive telemedicine coverage to the communities.
A sound, technical, end-to-end communications system is the cornerstone for a successful physician and patient encounter. How the patient feels about the telemedicine experience, laden with subjective ideas about physicians, their own skills at sharing information and their confidence in using devices—all play into the success of a telemedicine consult.
Moving from a physical interaction to digital means switching from a bedside manner to a “webside manner.” Physicians who can provide the best webside manner and use virtual communication to establish chemistry with the patient can have better patient outcomes. For many, virtual skills will improve over time. Here are some considerations.
• Start with education. Build patient confidence in telemedicine by taking the time to explain how and why telemedicine is a benefit, i.e., 24/7 coverage, integration with all EMR data and no need to pay for costly gas and travel expense for visits to other health care system sites. For patients needing specialty care, emphasize that telemedicine can provide specialists so a patient doesn’t have to travel or switch to another hospital.
• Minimize “doctor-speak.” Screen visits may encourage physicians to be more brief and less congenial as they would be in an in-person, room setting. To nurture a good telemedicine relationship, it’s advised to use language that the patient can relate to in explaining the medical issue under discussion. The patient should have time to ask questions, clarify instructions and to end the call feeling they had adequate one-on-one time with the physician.
• Be attentive. Balance the time looking at charts while on screen with exhibiting good eye contact with a patient and their family members. Physicians can practice eye contact techniques so the patient feels the screen disappears and the consult has an in-person connection. Attentiveness extends to body language. Physicians should avoid slouching or looking off screen to avoid appearing disinterested.
These practices, combined, can create a sense of empathy between physician and patient. It is an important element in a patient’s trust that their time with the tele-physician is as interactive, meaningful and productive as an in-person visit.
Telemedicine Integral To Digital Health Care Future
Digitization of healthcare is encompassing all aspects: data storage and retrieval, analytics, automated processes and telemedicine. Healthcare systems, faced with the reality of physician shortages, higher costs and the need for more specialty care, are turning to technology to survive in the future. Telemedicine and digital care are an integral part of the solution, PwC says, noting that “More than 30 health systems have invested $2.5 billion in remote monitoring and home health, alongside an additional $1 billion to support digital capabilities—and that number is rising.”
Telemedicine, and its digital operation counterparts, is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a must to include in a digital financial survival guide for today’s hospital.
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