Dispelling The Myths about Telemedicine

This article will deal with two things:

• Preconceived notions about telemedicine and why many physicians still believe the technology will not work in a medical practice.
• The data that debunks the myths about telemedicine.

Shifts in human thinking require the suspension of belief patterns long enough to open the door to factual data. As clinicians, we’ve been trained to follow peer-reviewed data to help guide our clinical decision-making related to everything from prescribing to accounts receivables in a practice setting.

Yet the OrthoLive team frequently runs across “the clinical telemedicine curmudgeon” – or, the orthopedic physician that continues to believe that telemedicine will not work for their specialty practice. The providers believe, despite the evidence, telemedicine will not pay, and it isn’t a service that patients want. These arguments could be applied to a variety of technologies or workflow changes that are increasingly pressuring the heel-dragging physician to evolve with the times.

We know, whether we believe in the concept of “value-based” medicine over traditional volume-centric practice, that this paradigm shift is now happening. In the same vein, we also know that our adoption of cloud-technologies is being driven inexorably by consumer demand. The old days of “if you build it they will come,” are not working; consumerism is here and competition is evolving how we run our practices.

In the case of telehealth, we also know it’s true that telemedicine will not work for every patient, the technology has proven to work well as a value-added service in an ever-expanding list of clinical settings.

But don’t take our word for it; let’s look closely at what the data is showing us.

Ironically, telemedicine has been around for decades. The biggest hurdle to the technology hasn’t been the Internet, which has been widely adopted as a secure framework for every business type across the globe for a decade. Instead, reimbursement for the virtual visit has been what’s been stymieing telehealth applications from widespread adoption.

That brings us to the first argument that we hear in medical practices reluctant to consider a telemedicine offering for their practice.

“Orthopedic surgeons in particular will find that pressures to cut costs and maintain excellence in healthcare, even while reimbursements continue to decline and patient volume increases, are constant.”
Becker’s Spine Review

The statistics have shown us that telemedicine has a number of clear-cut benefits in the orthopedic practice, including:

• Increased compensation via improved patient volumes. Replacing an inpatient visit for a routine check with a shorter and less overhead-dependent telemedicine visit is one way to improve the bottom line of a practice.
• Increased convenience for the patient because the last thing many of them want to do is to have the hassle of an in-person visit for a five-minute exam. Patients with orthopedic injuries face the discomfort of getting to and from transportation, a trip to your office with the hassles of parking and traffic, and the time spent cooling their heels in your waiting room. When you “breeze in” for a quick consultation, we’ve seen patients grow frustrated. Is offering the alternative of a virtual visit something they might appreciate?
• Better quality of care because the patient will be less likely to skip a virtual visit. The telemedicine visit may even eliminate their use of the ER for an infection or other issues. Since the majority of ER visits are not urgent, this is one way to lessen cost in the American healthcare system.

While these are all clear benefits of the application, some providers are still reluctant to embrace change. Why would these skeptics finally adapt to this new way of providing care?

Fact: Private and government payers are increasing reimbursement.

1. CMS has created new reimbursement categories for remote patient monitoring. Eight new codes for telemedicine have been added to the 2018 Physician Fee Schedule. MACRA’s Quality Payment Program now allows for clinician reimbursement under either MIPS or APMs.
2. Every major insurance carrier now offers reimbursement for telemedicine. This includes Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, and United Healthcare.
3. Finally, it should be noted that the telehealth visit pays off in reduced overhead costs as well as increased patient volumes. One study showed providers saved an average of $126 per clinical visit over traditional in-room exams.

Five years ago telemedicine was clearly not reimbursed in a manner that supported adoption. Today, telehealth services pay for themselves.

Click here to read more about telemedicine reimbursement for your practice.

Fact: Patient interest in this service has never been higher.

1. Telehealth is a time saver for patients that are increasingly impatient with long wait times. 97% of our patients are frustrated with the traditional waiting room process and are increasingly seeking ways to speed up a routine visit. Just look at the increase in “minute-clinics,” where even the name is acknowledgment of our increasing desire to do more with less time.
2. Cell phone usage has reached the tipping point; consumers of all ages are increasingly focused on their digital screens. This correlates strongly with studies that show 60% of patients today approve of telemedicine as a potential replacement for an in-office visit. 71% of patients would prefer to book their physician appointments via a mobile app.

A decade ago we could not have envisioned the demand for digital devices and applications reaching such frenzy. Today, businesses that are not “mobile-first” will rapidly fall behind.

Click here to read more about how consumer demand is driving telehealth adoption in the medical practice.

Fact: While telehealth won’t work for every visit, it does offer a viable alternative to traditional care.

1. Telemedicine is being leveraged for routine follow up care in the orthopedic practice. This is particularly true for post-operative surgical patients who might generally appreciate an alternative to traveling to your practice for a visit that takes five minutes with the doctor – but 20 (or more) in waiting-room time, not to mention travel, parking, and potential time off work that a traditional visit takes.
2. Workers’ compensation cases may benefit from a virtual visit to assist with monitoring home-care exercises. A virtual visit can reinforce a treatment plan and re-engage the non-compliant patient, adding value while improving care quality. This is being demonstrated with patient education and diabetes care. Could it also improve the outcomes in your orthopedic practice?

Cisco says 74% of your patients would be open to a virtual visit. Isn’t it time that you consider a workflow redesign and give them what they’re asking for?

Click here to read the story of one orthopedic providers’ use of telehealth in his clinical practice.

Change is particularly hard in the medical practice. Yet changing regulation and reimbursement, as well as the evolution of clinical techniques, have forced our profession into an almost-constant state of “What next?”

The difference with telehealth is that it isn’t a technology that’s being forced upon us, however, we now know that it can solve many of the problems we face, including:

• Improving clinical outcomes.
• Decreasing practice no-shows.
• Improving the per-patient wait and visit times, which allow providers to increase clinical volumes.
• Increasing patient access during a time of provider shortages.
• Reducing overheads costs.
• Improving the quality of life for time-pressed and stressed clinical providers.

OrthoLive has developed a secure, HIPAA-compliant, affordable telehealth solution to help your practice capitalize on a technology that can improve practice revenues. We’d appreciate the opportunity to answer all of the questions you have about this revolutionary service. All you need to do is make the call.

Contact us today for a no-risk complimentary discussion.