Satyanarayan H.’s Post

Telehealth works when the entire healthcare delivery system is reconsidered. It requires new workflows and positions. It requires greater technology acumen and training. Lastly, to realize the true potential of telehealth we must enrich to video interface with medical device peripherals such as stethoscopes, tools to measure vitals and devices that allow testing and diagnostics.

The future of healthcare is on the brink of ground-breaking change, which would be led by technological innovations, changing demographics, and emerging consumer preferences. One of the significant changes is the increased use of telemedicine and virtual care models that are transforming the way healthcare services are provided. Telemedicine consists of online consultations, diagnoses, and monitoring, and it is an accessible, convenient, and cost-saving solution. In 2023, the global telehealth market size was $101.2 billion and is anticipated to expand at a rate of 24.3% from 2024 until 2030 (Grand View Research, 2024). The market growth is attributed to increased demand for telemedicine, which resulted from the pandemic. This caused the number of virtual consultations and remote monitoring to rise. The patient's experience will significantly transform at hospitals and other physical healthcare facilities. Virtual care platforms and decentralized care sites like community clinics and mobile health units will gain increased importance.            There will be a shift in the future healthcare model towards value-based care that rewards providers for patient outcomes rather than the amount of services provided. This change aligns with the regulatory trends that promote quality of care and reduce costs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have put in place new value-based payment programs like ACOs (accountable care organizations) and bundled payments, which should motivate coordinated care and collaboration among healthcare providers (Kim et al., 2022). Such a change in the paradigm of financial compensation requires a transformation from a fee-for-service system to bundled payments, capitation, and shared savings models. The changes all favor a better patient experience alongside population well-being outcomes and minimize healthcare expenditures, creating a more sustainable and efficient medical system for the future.   References Grand View Research. (2024). Telehealth Market Size And Share Analysis Report, 2030. https://lnkd.in/e5dab7NK Kim, H., Mahmood, A., Hammarlund, N. E., & Chang, C. F. (2022). Hospital Value-Based Payment Programs and Disparity in the United States: A Review of Current Evidence and Future Perspectives. Frontiers in Public Health, 10(1), 1–36. https://lnkd.in/eERR4qiz   

It is interesting to see companies acquire Walmart's healthcare assets; the question is the sustainability of the telehealth business in a crowded field and the targeting of the same commercial patients. I hope they also think of Rural and Medicaid patients as opportunities.

While this article is from Apr 2021 and is in response to returning to in-person care after COVID, many of the comments about hybrid care with telehealth and value-based care (VBC) are still relevant. Patients learned to appreciate the convenience of telehealth, but they recognized (along with providers) that telehealth isn't a good fit for all types of care. But it does offer an opportunity to rethink care delivery. Reimbursement models are slow to change, and VBC may offer an opportunity to solve some of the challenges/costs with healthcare reimbursement. "As we move into a future hybrid model, we need to make sure that we're right-sizing the telehealth component so that we are not just layering an additional burden on top of already overwhelmed providers and their staffs." "For one, we need to help providers identify situations in which telehealth can actually fill a particular care gap, or in which a virtual visit can help improve outcomes...Figuring out the best use cases will take good data and analysis. But it will also take shifting how we think about care delivery to focus more on the overall value, as opposed to focusing on individual services, like telehealth, as separate widgets." "I think value-based models offer the most promise for achieving a better balance of telehealth and in-person care as we look to the future beyond the height of COVID. These payment systems take into account the total cost of care for a patient, reward providers for keeping patients healthy and reducing wasteful spending, and are already designed to prevent overutilization." #telehealth #telemedicine #healthcare #virtualcare #virtualhealth #digitalhealth #healthIT #ehealth #healthtech #digitalmedicine #healthcarereform #valuebasedcare

  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲   Digitalized healthcare and the ‘Internet of Medical Things’ is here—and it’s going to make access to health systems far more seamless and accessible. It’s a huge opportunity   Using tech to improve access to healthcare is nothing new: an 1879 Lancet medical journal discussed the possibility of using phone calls to reduce patient visits to the doctor’s office. By the 1920s, doctors in Australia were deploying radios and text telegraphy, a predecessor of today’s text messaging, to diagnose patients in far-flung areas. What is new is how emerging ideas in telehealth are converging with fintech innovations to change the financial side of healthcare.   𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉, 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕. Despite digital communication advances over the decades—not least the introduction of the Internet—telehealth adoption remained relatively limited, until the pandemic forced us all online and into our homes for an extended period. The global public health crisis and a series of lockdowns made at-home, virtual healthcare a necessity. Covid-19 has sharply accelerated user uptake, research, government support, and industry investment in the telehealth industry. As a consequence, The telehealth market size was estimated at USD 120.01 billion in 2022 and is expected to surpass around USD 1,186.59 billion by 2032 and poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.7% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032, according to analysts nova one advisor. The high costs of providing in-person care means telehealth could represent a huge opportunity. McKinsey estimates that $250 billion of current US healthcare spending has the potential to be virtualized. This could include, for example, psychiatric care, regular check-in appointments for chronic conditions, and training for medical professionals—all accessed via each person’s preferred device. According to Jeff Lin, who co-leads J.P. Morgan’s Healthcare Payments business: “In competitive markets, like the US, health providers that fail to develop effective digital channels will lose out to those that do, especially amongst younger generations.” Those new digital channels can incorporate payments in smart ways that not only reduce frictions, but improve the delivery of healthcare itself.   https://lnkd.in/gd9KhuKt

Fee for service SUCKS. Forgive my lack of eloquence and word choice. You know the saying related to paying peanuts, well that’s my issue here. The Medicare fee schedule is killing telehealth prematurely (or is a big part of it!). Yes I'm oversimplifying. Yes I know Optum is a master of managing margin and regularly makes hard calls. Although I like Sergei Polevikov, ABD, MBA, MS, MA 🇮🇱🇺🇦’s piece a lot and agree with his points I have a slightly different angle to throw out there. https://lnkd.in/e2ZSsSsY It's not just about providers, it's about reimbursement. and Marijka Grey, MD, MBA, FACP has a great piece too…and now Christina Farr has a nice commentary I can't tell you how many BP2 Health clients in the past year we've worked with that have wanted to deploy telehealth as a solution for a variety of reasons that will improve outcomes, reduce expense and increase convenience but economically cannot because of reimbursement. Such a shame. Can I get a "value based care" anyone? We have to do better as an industry. Despite everyone's demonization of Health System c-suite leaders, I talk to a number of them regularly and many are NOT planning to grow beds, but instead focus on convenience, ambulatory, owning lives aka taking full risk aka value based care and digital health. Guess what - telehealth is a key part of tools needed for that future state. Please Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Liz F. reconsider the fee schedules to keep telehealth alive. Neil M. Meltzer, MPH, MHA Feby Abraham HealthTap Craig Hittle Sean K Mehra Geoffrey Rutledge https://lnkd.in/eY5a5K-r

7 Ways telehealth can help your practice #healthcare

Three Healthcare Challenges Overcome by Virtual Specialty Care — And Why Employers Should Take Note – MedCity News - MedCity News Title: Three Healthcare Challenges Overcome by Virtual Specialty Care — And Why Employers Should Take Note #Introduction Virtual specialty care is revolutionizing healthcare by addressing three key challenges and providing innovative solutions that benefit both patients and employers. #Challenge 1: Access to Specialty Care Many patients face barriers to accessing specialty care due to long wait times and limited availability. Virtual specialty care offers a solution by providing timely consultations and follow-ups regardless of location. #Solution 1: Telemedicine Platforms Telemedicine platforms connect patients with specialists through video consultations, improving access to care and reducing the need for in-person visits. #Challenge 2: Care Coordination Coordinating care between multiple specialists can be complex and time-consuming, leading to fragmented care ai.mediformatica.com #specialtycare #healthcare #acce #patients #this #model #employers #telemedicine #communication #engagement #medcity #medcityinfluencers #digitalhealth #healthit #healthtech #healthcaretechnology @MediFormatica (https://buff.ly/3z8lMvV)

Telehealth’s promise was tested during the pandemic—now, Congress must decide its future. Paragon & Competitive Enterprise Institute's Dr. Zinberg dives deep into surprising trends, costs, benefits, and challenges. 'Evaluating #Telehealth: What Congress Needs to Know' ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e8BFx8WT From mental health boosts to rural gaps, the paper discusses why telehealth didn’t maintain its early momentum and what it means for health care access. Our report sheds light on where telehealth worked—and where it didn’t. #Telehealth visits rose quickly, partially offsetting the major drop in in-person outpatient visits during the early pandemic. As more people returned to in-person services, telehealth usage dropped off to near pre-pandemic levels for most medical services. Mental health has seen sustained telehealth use, but most other fields returned to in-person visits. While mental health use stayed high, overall telehealth costs rose as it supplemented in-person care. Current data shows #urban areas utilized telehealth more than #rural areas, despite previous beliefs that telehealth would be a boon for rural areas where health care is less accessible. Overall, the long-term cost implications of telehealth will depend on how payment levels and utilization for telehealth vs. in-person services shake out. Congress needs all the facts on #telehealth before expanding policies.

Exploring the balance between convenience and cost in telehealth! Our latest research at Haslam College of Business delves into the benefits and challenges of telehealth for rural patients. #UTKnoxville Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e6WnN5Xw