The Patient/Provider Gap: Is Telehealth Still The Solution?
Expand your scope of care with telemedicine and clinician outsourcing
If we made a list of some of the most significant issues in healthcare, patient and provider accessibility would be one of them. Sometimes, this gap results from insufficient insurance coverage and affordability. Other times, it’s fueled by provider staffing shortages, transportation issues and language barriers.
Initially, telehealth solutions were introduced to combat some of these gaps in care, particularly among rural and underserved patients. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was rapidly implemented to foster interactions among patients and providers nationwide. Since then, trends have shown a steady use of telehealth services, and positive patient satisfaction implies that it will have a place in the future.
However, is telehealth still a satisfactory solution for meeting healthcare demand, or is it all just hype? Below, we’ll explore how outsourcing clinicians using telehealth technology is and will continue to be a viable solution.
A shift from provider-centric care
Healthcare organizations are moving away from the traditional provider-centric model, where the physician is solely responsible for patient care and information flow. This method took on the “the doctor knows best” role, allowing the provider to dominate the relationship and act in the patient's best interest.
While this approach worked for years, it's often reactive and siloed. It also requires patients to physically seek care by visiting their provider's office, usually resulting in delayed medical care.
The clinical and financial impact of patients waiting until their next appointment to ask questions about their medication, inquire about health changes or gain education on disease management is significant.
A push toward patient-centric care
Today, things have changed. Now, many healthcare organizations are taking on the patient-centric framework, which involves providing better care access from the patient's perspective. This delivery service model encourages patient participation. It encourages patients to take an active role in managing their health, as research shows that engaged patients achieve improved outcomes.
Virtual care makes patient-centric care a reality
Thanks to technological advances, specifically virtual care, patients can now connect with providers from the comfort of their homes.
To clarify, virtual care is defined as “Integrated web-based technology that combines self-management, data sharing, and communication between patients and professionals.”
By that definition, one can say that virtual care makes patient-centric care possible by providing better convenience.
The advantages of using virtual care and outsourcing clinicians
If healthcare companies want to align with patient-centric care, they must embrace virtual care.. By extending care services beyond organizational walls and outsourcing clinicians, they could benefit from the following:
Proven, rapid scalability: Studies show that telemedicine systems are scalable. Sizable multispecialty healthcare systems quickly expanded their service offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet patient needs.
Specialty care expansion: Telehealth connects patients to care that is often out of reach in some communities. Subspecialties like cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology and more all have case studies showing the positive impact of telehealth services.
Better patient outcomes: Telemedicine interventions have improved patient outcomes, such as bettering glycemic control and treatment adherence.
Improved efficiency: Telehealth tools streamline appointment scheduling and patient-provider communication. It also has the potential to decrease no-shows and reduce wait times. Practices may even experience reduced operational costs as they may not require as much office space or in-person staff to provide care.
As you can see, integrating patient-centric care by way of virtual care solutions demonstrates that telehealth is still a viable option for meeting healthcare demands. Outsourcing clinicians allows healthcare organizations to match service needs efficiently, thus maximizing resource allocation.
Powering virtual care can open the door to additional revenue streams and a greater ROI. Imagine what 50-state clinical support and 24/7 coverage would look like for your organization and patients. Not only would you be able to attract new patients, but you’d also be able to expand services among your existing patient populations.
Value-based care and virtual care
As the healthcare industry transitions from fee-for-service to value-based care, it’s expected that telehealth adoption will also increase. But why is that?
A push for collaborative care
Value-based care greatly emphasizes integrated care, which telehealth helps fulfill. Let's look at the CMS Innovation Center, for example, which operates pilot programs to assess the most effective care methods. Within these programs, care coordination is a big deal. They encourage physicians to discuss patient care across appointments and practices.
One study explained that telehealth provides opportunities for interprofessional care in primary care. It encourages teams, patients and the patient's family members to share decisions and agree on healthcare plans.
Focus on prevention
Another area of heavy focus with value-based care is wellness and prevention. Remember those pilot programs we mentioned before? Well, many of these value-based programs reward providers with incentive payments for the quality of care they provide Medicare patients. Preventative health programs, in particular, are a big priority in this care modality, and telehealth can potentially boost value-based care reimbursement models.
Telehealth interventions can even aid with chronic disease management. Oftentimes, circumstances like medication non-adherence and undesirable outcomes are a result of poor health literacy. Greater provider involvement through virtual care can help manage these pitfalls.
Combat costly care with adequate provider staffing
Instead of prioritizing the volume of services provided, value-based care focuses on the quality and cost of achieving outcomes. As you might imagine, virtual care can play a role in this as well.
In one study, researchers found that telehealth emergency care led to fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations among Veterans. It also resulted in reduced out-of-network spending.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) even shared examples of how telehealth prevents more costly care. For example, Ascension Health discovered that almost 70% of patients would’ve gone to urgent care or the emergency department if virtual care wasn’t available. Also, check out a recent blog discussing the positive effects of telehealth in post-discharge care.
A pre-COVID study of Cigna beneficiaries saw that virtual care users saw a 40% net reduction in emergency room use per 1,000 individuals compared to non-virtual care users. Those who used their telehealth platform had 17% lower costs.
The future of healthcare includes telehealth
With many physicians nearing retirement and a projected physician shortage on the horizon, virtual care is crucial.
OpenLoop makes meeting patient demands via virtual care simple with our NCQA-accredited network of over 20,000 providers and full stack of infrastructure solutions. With 50-state clinical support, nationwide PC network and payer coverage and top-tier specialists, your organization can scale with ease.
Are you interested in learning more? Contact us today!
Our full suite of white-labeled virtual care services includes: