Defining Virtual Care Initiatives

Virtual Care can support four critical strategic priorities:

  • Quality of care and services
  • Access to care
  • Practice transformation
  • Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology and Data Analytics

 In the context of these priorities, answering three targeted questions can help to define Virtual Care initiatives:

FIRST: WHY DO WE WANT TO USE VIRTUAL CARE?

We start by clarifying why we are investing in telehealth or Virtual Care. We will enlist clinical, operational, financial, and health IT stakeholders to identify core strategic initiatives and challenges that Virtual Care can address.

  • Attract Consumers: Enhance member/patient convenience and access to timely diagnosis, treatment, health navigation, health education and appointments
  • Expand Reach: Increase provider access to specialist expertise for patient consultations (i.e. primary care to specialist, primary care to behavioral health and specialist to specialist)
  • Reduce Cost: Improve clinical quality and right-site utilization in avoidable admissions, readmissions for populations under risk- or value-based payments
  • Increase Access: Expand provider capacity through improved operational efficiencies

THEN: WHAT TECHNOLOGIES DO YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS?

Not every technology platform is right for every strategic goal. We will evaluate vendors’ offerings based on their ability to deliver the specific outcomes we are seeking.

  • Attract Consumers: Offer direct-to-consumer virtual visits by email, phone or video, access to health plan member services, benefits, education via mobile apps
  • Expand Reach: Enable provider-to-provider specialist consultations with HIPAA-secure messaging system and smartphone app (i.e. eConsult)
  • Reduce Cost: Target riskiest chronic care patients for 60-day using Bluetooth-enabled devices, remote monitoring at home (i.e. “hospital-at-home,” health care coordinators)
  • Increase Access: Shift follow-up appointments to check-ins using secure messaging

LET’S NOT FORGET: HOW CAN YOU IMPLEMENT WISELY TO MAXIMIZE SUCCESS?

Virtual Care initiatives will be successful only if they are sustainable over time. We must plan and budget investments in the provider community and internal technology, operational costs, evaluating vendor’s partnership requirements, providing workflow redesign, and systematically staging rollout and scaling.

  • Attract Consumers: Clarify reimbursement opportunities and financial targets
  • Expand Reach: Investing in safety net providers who acquire and adopt virtual care equipment
  • Reduce Cost: Developing sustainable Virtual Care programs for patient access; Determine program staffing and training demands ; Develop dynamic, provider-friendly clinical workflows