Your IT Clients' Opportunities In Virtual Health

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

If your primary health clients aren’t considering virtual solutions, 2016 might be the time.

A report from Accenture has revealed that virtual health could save $10 billion yearly and allow them to treat more patients without them needing to train more physicians. This can be accomplished through the use of both live and asynchronous clinical interactions. Providers taking advantage of virtual/telehealth solutions are accessing yet another tool in coordinating services across the care continuum.

The Tech Of Virtual Health

Virtual health is made up of a wide array of digital tools including

• analytic diagnostic engines
• virtual medical assistants
• biometric devices

These technologies can be used to collect patient information and determine potential treatment options even before a patient comes for their visit.

Benefits Of Virtual Health Across The Country

The report indicates that a full five minutes could be saved per encounter, adding up to an economic savings of $7 billion across the U.S. annually, as well as free up what would be the equivalent of 37,000 primary care physicians. According to the Accenture report, “The enterprise-level impact of these scenarios is just as compelling as the industry-level view already described. Consider a large regional health system or independent practice association with approximately 1,800 affiliated or employed PCPs. Accenture analysis shows that an average of five minutes saved across all ambulatory annual encounters can release almost $63 million in physician capacity per year, the equivalent of about 320 practicing PCPs. For a smaller system or clinically integrated network, a staff of about 800 PCPs is more the norm. A five-minute savings across all annual encounters for that organization can release the equivalent of roughly 140 physicians’ time with a value of almost $28 million annually.”

Benefits On The Patient Side

Additionally, in an environment of patient-centered health, it would allow patients to become more involved in their own care decisions. Patients would be able to manage chronic conditions including diabetes in addition to addressing individual visit needs.

Still, there is a question as to whether patients will be on board with e-visits and other virtual care solutions. According to FierceHealth IT, one survey indicated that 65 percent of respondents say they would be “somewhat or very unlikely” to use telemedicine in place of a meeting with a provider. That said, the same survey indicated that their concerns could be addressed by having patients first meeting with a doctor in person.

To learn more about implementing telehealth solutions that address issues of patient comfort and acknowledge differences in demographics, read the BSM article “Telehealth Transition Addressed Through Multistage Solution.”