Lori Prestesater discusses three essential considerations that should be made if healthcare providers are to continue on their path to becoming genuinely digitally driven.
During the pandemic, digitally provided healthcare saw enormous changes — but are these advances here to stay? Telehealth is more efficient, gives patients more choice over their care, and many patients increasingly prefer virtual appointments to in-person sessions.
This growing technology has the potential to benefit healthcare systems all across the world. Three key factors should be considered if healthcare providers, such as the NHS, are to continue on their path toward being truly digitally driven, as shown in the recent COVID-19 Telehealth Impact Study by the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition, of which the American Medical Association is a contributing organisation.
1. Digital equity across the country
For telehealth to be deemed a sustainable and inclusive approach to treatment, work must first be done to bridge the digital gap, beginning with the widespread distribution of broadband access and devices for elderly people and those on low means. However, access alone will not ensure equity because not all patients possess the necessary abilities to benefit from these technology. One in four persons in the United States, for example, may lack the digital literacy abilities needed to participate in video visits, so we must find ways to support these populations through greater access and education. When specific telehealth platforms are used, they can be tailored to meet the audio, visual, and motor impairment needs of senior citizens and people with disabilities.
2. Complete integration into the care process
By changing how telehealth is viewed, the whole spectrum of benefits can be reached. Rather than adopting telehealth as a band-aid solution to the issues faced during the epidemic, it may be used as a long-term tool to improve access to care for people who are unable to visit a physician in person owing to mental, physical, or logistical barriers. For the benefit of patients, care routes can be completely reinvented. The work we've done at the American Medical Association (AMA) provides one example of how to integrate telehealth. We built a Telehealth Implementation Playbook to help organisations integrate telemedicine as rapidly as possible during the pandemic. It provides a clear path to scaled implementation as well as access to institutional knowledge and best practises gathered by professionals in the area.
3. Infrastructure that is focused on the future
To ensure that telehealth is here to stay, the necessary infrastructure must support the seamless integration of physical and digital services. Electronic patient records and interoperable data entry are essential for providing the best possible treatment to patients, lowering physician workload, and ensuring the long-term viability of health institutions. The integration of telehealth and in-person care is made possible by efficient clinical coding. Global standards and interoperability are made possible by using a standardised set of clinical codes, such as the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). This also helps to ensure that care and research are consistent and enhanced.
The adoption of telehealth accelerated at an incredible rate. To promote long-term telehealth adoption, we must increase digital equity, assure meaningful integration into care pathways, and build future-proof infrastructure. Technology should be viewed as a benefit rather than a burden that exacerbates inequality, making it easier to offer treatment.
The American Medical Association's (AMA) newest offering, the Telehealth Immersion Program, is part of the STEPS Forward Innovation Academy and is designed to assist physicians, practises, and health systems in optimising and maintaining telehealth in their organisations.