The Long and Winding Road to On-Demand Delivery of Healthcare, Consultation, and Medical Information
If we're to believe the findings of many recently conducted studies, then telemedicine might finally be coming of age. Not all, but certainly many of the issues that were once barriers to widespread acceptance and adoption of telemedicine applications, have been or will be resolved in the foreseeable future.
According to a September 2014 report (by marketing intelligence company, Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global telemedicine market is projected to reach an estimated value of USD 36.3 billion by 2020. In a separate November 2014 study, leaders in healthcare – mostly C-level executives from for-profit and nonprofit care providers, including hospitals, home health organizations and physician group practices – indicate that that their organizations are committed to continuing to implement telemedicine programs, despite challenges such as getting doctors to buy into the programs and insurers to pay for them.
The right technology at the right time.
According to a survey by the American Telemedicine Association in 2014, the top telemedicine delivery methods were video (77%) and audio (57%). Although the concept of e-consults between physicians, virtual doctor visits, store-and-forward, and remote patient monitoring has been around for years, it took the right technological innovations to drive widespread adoption. The level of technological disruption offered by the VidyoWorks platform and APIs, is unmatched in the telehealth industry and has enabled a new generation of telemedicine services.
When American Well, a U.S. a telehealth services company, selected the VidyoWorks platform for its telehealth service offering in 2011, Dr. Roy Schoenberg, the company's president and CEO, had the vision to recognize the tides were turning in healthcare delivery. Schoenberg had a noteworthy "a-ha" moment after his company launched its mobile app in October 2013. He realized that the ability to connect from wherever and whenever a patient needs healthcare was a huge factor in driving a broader acceptance of telemedicine. That kind of mobility and flexibility had never before been achieved, and it has everything to do with the technology by Vidyo that became available.
According to an article in MobiHealthNews in late 2014, Schoenberg said: "We've been offering telehealth services in a variety of different ways through the web to patient populations. And then just about a year ago we turned on access through your mobile device, and we're seeing a hundredfold increase. The reality is how people use telehealth has completely changed because of a single thing they have in their pocket. Sometimes the solution is not having flashier statements and better communication, it's just by making that little tweak that makes it part of the fabric of people's lives."
American Well's customers include Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Wellpoint and others. Supported by Vidyo technology, it offers an app (found in both the Android and iOS stores) that connects users to a live doctor anytime, via a mobile or desktop device. It was recently named the most popular telehealth app of 2014, worldwide, according to App Annie, the global leader in app analytics and app market data.
Navigating legal roadblocks.
Another obstacle that has impeded broad acceptance of telemedicine practices in the U.S. is the labyrinth of legalities surrounding reimbursement and regulatory policies both at the federal and state level. Although policy makers have historically been slow to embrace new technologies, there are currently a number of bills in the pipeline that will finally pave the way to massive adoption by payers, patients, and providers. The 113th Congress – beginning on January 3, 2013, and ending on January 3, 2015 – introduced 57 bills to alter current telehealth policies.
Among the most important bills introduced thus far: the Medicare Telehealth Parity Act expands coverage for real-time and store-and-forward services. Phase 2 extends telehealth access to metropolitan areas and coverage of home health services.; The Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2014 that aims to greatly expand Medicaid coverage by removing geographic eligibility for critical access and sole-community hospitals. It may also include coverage for home-based video care services at hospices, home dialysis patients and homebound seniors, and telehealth services for women with high-risk pregnancies.The TELE-MED Act is another bill that allows Medicare providers to treat patients across state lines without needing to obtain multiple state medical licenses. With the passage of the TELE-MED Act patients will have access to their doctor of choice, regardless of geographic location. Finally, the 21st Century Cure Actwill require telemedicine services to prove cost neutrality, if not savings, in order to seek reimbursement from CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) provable cost neutrality or cost savings would remove one of the last barriers to large scale acceptance.
Though removing regulatory obstacles to widespread telehealth applications has been and continues to be a major challenge to widespread adoption, there is reason for optimism. Increased legislation is also happening at the state level. To name some of the more recent actions: New York recently passed a landmark Telehealth Reimbursement Bill that requires Medicaid deductibles, coinsurance, and other coverage conditions for virtual visits to match in-person service coverage. Tennessee passed telemedicine parity legislation that goes into effect in this year and focuses on expanding Medicaid coverage, including managed care and state employee plans. Arizona's laws currently cover a long list of store-and-forward services including dermatology, ophthalmology, and surgery follow-ups. As of January, 2015, 25 states have developed State Health Innovation Plans with federal government support; 19 of them want to use a portion of these resources to expand telehealth services.
Although over half the country, 29 states, do not yet have parity laws in place, according to The American Telemedicine Association, today 21 states do have telemedicine parity laws for private insurance – though only 15 of them, and Washington D.C., authorize state-wide coverage, without any provider or technology restrictions.
For advocates of universal access to telemedicine, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful. The sands are shifting in favor of this next-generation of healthcare delivery. One other possible reason for a change in perspective could have to do with financial and payment incentives under the Affordable Care Act. As articulated in a research report from Foley & Lardner LLP, "As health care providers move from a fee-for-service model to one that reimburses based on positive patient outcomes, providers bear a greater share of the risk – and potential reward – for keeping their patients healthy. In addition, the level of responsibility shifts even more for providers in risk-bearing contracts or capitated arrangements, in which payments are made per person rather than per service. For executives under pressure to find cost-effective methods of engagement with their patients, telemedicine offers ways to streamline operations and create multiple touch points with patients, making it one of the most reliable methods for transitioning to a post-ACA, forward-looking reimbursement model."
Vidyo's unique position to address these changes.
It is clear that Vidyo and its healthcare partners have a distinctive technological edge with regard to solutions that have been at the forefront and will continue to lead in these exciting transitions in the telehealth market. Look no further than the current Gartner report "Cool Vendors in Healthcare Providers, 2015" to confirm that we are a central part of this healthcare revolution. This year's Cool Vendors for healthcare providers showcases vendors that offer solutions to some of healthcare's biggest challenges, and we know our innovative work speaks directly to this.
For further information and the VidyoWorks platform and APIs: (NEED TO INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS AND/OR URL).
Source: Vidyo
