Closing Telehealth Gap by Educating Payers

Editor’s Note: Payers and providers have shed their fears about the deployment of telemedicine services. Payers are rapidly becoming educated in telehealth and are keen on closing the telehealth gap. Click here to discuss how BHM helps payers.

Closing the Telehealth Gap

Hospitals and healthcare-delivery systems are embracing the closing of the telehealth gap, having made substantial investments in infrastructure, training, and process re-engineering. Yet most patients — about eight out of 10 consumers — are still largely unaware of how to access telehealth or whether their insurer will cover it. Through education, we can continue making progress in closing the telehealth gap.

According to Avizia, a provider of system-wide telehealth, health systems are investing in the technology even though consumer uptake remains slow, because they recognize its potential to profoundly improve patient care. These are among the first insights drawn from the company’s study on attitudes and challenges surrounding virtual care.

Detailed survey results, based on insights from both healthcare providers and patients, are included in the 2017 Closing the Telehealth Gap report, which also features researchers’ analysis of what the findings mean for the future of care delivery. As the data indicates, there is strong momentum for telehealth, but patients need a little more guidance and education for adoption to increase more broadly.

Key Findings

• 18% of consumers surveyed said they had used telehealth, while 82% had not.
• When asked to rate their experience on a scale of 1 to 10 — with 10 signifying a “great experience” — 62% of consumers who had used telehealth rated their experience an 8, 9, or 10.
• Consumers who used telehealth appreciated the time savings and convenience (59%), faster service and shorter wait times to see the doctor (55%), and cost savings due to less travel (43%).
• Providers are most interested in telehealth’s ability to expand access or reach to patients (72%), but flagged reimbursement as a barrier to implementation (41%), followed by program cost (40%) and clinician resistance (22%).

Avizia CEO Mike Baird noted that health systems are investing in telehealth despite slow consumer uptake because they understand the technology’s potential to profoundly affect patient care. He added that as technology advances and health-system priorities shift, he expects more hospitals to seek new ways to leverage telehealth at a system-wide level to support the move toward value-based care.

In addition to survey results, the 2017 Closing the Telehealth Gap white paper highlights two health-system case studies that demonstrate how telehealth is making a meaningful, measurable difference in patient care, outcomes, and cost savings.

To see the full survey results and download the 2017 Closing the Telehealth Gap white paper, click here.

---

Payers and providers have shed their fears about the deployment of telemedicine services. Payers are rapidly becoming educated in telehealth and are keen on closing the telehealth gap. Telehealth services extend networks beyond urban hubs and expand payers’ member enrollments. Click here to discuss how BHM helps payers.