The pandemic gave us more reasons, and more options, to see doctors online. More and more, people are seeking out telemedicine services versus the traditional brick and mortar physician’s office. This trend includes telemental health services as well. And much like the necessity of remote work proved its potential to employers, telemedicine took hold as a convenient, safe and effective approach to healthcare.
While telemedicine services perform an important role in filling gaps in care, they do not address chronic care and primary care of people. This shortcoming has led to the creation of an entirely new category: virtual primary care (VPC). Today, many employers are exploring incorporating VPC into their employee benefits offering.
In practice, virtual primary care gives patients face-to-face time with their physicians across electronic devices. VPC combines the convenience of telehealth technology with an emphasis on building and maintaining strong relationships between patients and the primary care providers (PCPs). It can be used for chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes or screening for issues like anxiety and depression. During these visits, doctors can refer patients to specialists or even write prescriptions for some acute illnesses that do not require an in-person assessment.
The COVID-19 pandemic definitely thrust the use of telemedicine forward, but many healthcare providers have been using this type of service for years. What the pandemic did do is encourage patients’ use of the telehealth services already in place. In fact, in 2020 telehealth visits increased 8,336% over visits in 2019 and telehealth appointments continue to rise.
Patients and medical professionals struggle to stay afloat in the current healthcare space. Long wait times have become the norm at doctor’s offices. As a result, more people are avoiding medical appointments altogether. Alongside outrageous wait times, patients are also plagued by high medical costs.
VPC is a cost-effective way for more people to access healthcare more easily, as it reduces taking time off from work and traveling to see a doctor – especially for those living in remote areas. Not every visit can be a digital visit, but many can be.
The shift to virtual primary care is a solution appealing to younger generations who enjoy the ease of digital appointments. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found one-fourth of all adults and nearly half of adults under 30 don’t have a primary care provider – and don’t want one. Millennials and Gen Z (those born in 1997 or later) are “digital natives” and do not remember a time when the internet and social media didn’t exist. As a result, they communicate, shop and manage all aspects of their lives differently than generations before them. When it comes to healthcare, their expectations are no different. They want to schedule and complete a medical consultation from the same place they order dinner – their couch.
Today, all generations of health consumers are demanding a focus shift from just healthcare to health and well-being. VPC is a healthcare evolution that could open doorways for patients to interact with more doctors, receive a better diagnosis, and reduce the common healthcare concerns that are so prevalent today.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare system in the US has changed. More and more, people are seeking out telemedicine services versus the traditional brick and mortar physician’s office. This trend also includes telemental health services as well. So what are the advantages of these services and how are they growing to meet the need?
Pandemic Launch
The COVID-19 pandemic definitely thrust the use of telemedicine forward but many health care providers have been using this type of service for years. What the pandemic did do is encourage patients’ use of the telehealth services already in place. Telehealth is defined as “the practice of communicating electronically with a physician, typically via telephone or video chat.” While our hospitals and doctors’ offices have been overcrowded with very sick COVID-19 patients, use of telemedicine has allowed the burden felt in these locations to be lessened. Patients call in for routine exams and are many times seen and treated faster than if they came in to the physical office location.
Advantages to Telehealth Services
According to a survey by FAIR Health, there has been a 8,336% increase nationally in the use of telehealth from April 2019 to April 2020. Advantages of this increase and use include:
Enabling patients to follow shelter-in-place restrictions by staying home and away from hospitals, except for emergencies
Minimizing risk to health care workers and patients by limiting exposure to the coronavirus and other diseases
Facilitating services for chronic patient monitoring, follow-up visits, therapy appointments and post-operative care
Employees see the offering of telemedicine benefits as a huge priority in examining employment options
Advantages to Telemental Health Services
Like Telehealth services, use of Telemental Health services have also increased this year. A recent mental health survey says that 7 in 10 employees cite the COVID-19 pandemic as being the most stressful time in their careers. Caring for children who are out of school, caring for loved ones, financial issues, and stress from job changes are some of the issues that employees are facing. Business owners see the benefit of telemental health as their employees’ access these services in higher numbers. High levels of stress have been known to result in lower productivity, lower morale, and higher absenteeism. Advantages for telemental health include:
The provision of telemental health services to patients living in rural and under-served areas has significantly reduced psychiatric hospitalization rates.
Low-income, homebound seniors experienced longer lasting effects of telemental health than those who received in-person mental health services.
Mental health providers rarely have to perform any physical services on their patients, so telemental health is more plausible than other types of telehealth services.
There is little or no difference in patient satisfaction with telemental health when compared with face-to-face mental health consultations.
Although mental health professionals are in short supply, mobile devices are not.
There are some significant advantages to the use of telemedicine services. Zywave explains, “Virtual healthcare is emerging as a viable solution to help lessen the burden on healthcare facilities and staff while still providing individuals with the care they need.” Tele-services also reach more of the under-served population both for health care and mental health care. As consumers gain confidence in virtual living, the call for telemedicine will also grow.
New technologies are poised to fundamentally change the HR industry as we know it. Just as the smartphone revolutionized the way we communicate, artificial intelligence will reshape all areas of HR, from employee onboarding to learning management to developing top talent. And, similar to smartphones, these changes will take place at lightning speed.
But what exactly is artificial intelligence? And what implications might this evolving tech have on the future of health care? Buckle up, because we’re going to take a glimpse into the current AI projects, as well as what the future of health care could look like with AI advancements.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
In its most basic form, artificial intelligence uses computer programming to develop systems that are able to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence. These tasks could include speech recognition, decision-making, language translation, and much more.
Have you ever wondered how ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft are able to predict ETAs for rides? Artificial intelligence. Or, how email platforms know how to filter out spam and nicely categorize your emails into categories? Yep, artificial intelligence. Or, how your banking app is able to process a check deposit via a simple image? You guessed it, artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence has become an integral part of many of the technologies and services that we use in our everyday life without us even knowing or really thinking about it.
In addition to its many convenient applications, AI also offers a promising and impactful future in the field of health care.
Examples of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
The use of artificial intelligence is completely altering the front door of health care as we know it. From specific programs that aid in medical diagnostics to intelligent apps that triage remote patients, AI is making health care more efficient and accessible than ever.
Medical Data Mining
One of the primary areas in which AI shines versus manual human processes in the field of data analysis. Not only can artificial intelligence process complex sets of data at lightning speed, it can also provide meaningful and actionable insight and recommendations based on data sets. DeepMind(acquired by Google in 2014) is an AI-based technology that works to expedite the process in which patients are moved from ‘test’ to ‘treatment’. IBM’s Watsonproduct provides solutions for interpreting, organizing, and easily accessing clinical and patient data, in addition to providing technology for recognizing patient similarity and medical insights. According to IBM, medical data is expected to double every 73 days by 2020. And, each person will generate enough health-related data in their lifetime to fill 300 million physical books. Utilizing AI will not only expedite the process in which health care providers access patient info but also better-organize and analyze data available and even provide predictions on future health concerns and recommendations for treatment plans.
Powering Diagnostics
The FDA recently approved the use of artificial intelligence powered software for the use of medical diagnostics, marking the first use of AI in this application. The program is designed to detect signs of diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can cause long-term vision loss and that impacts more than 30 million people in the United States alone. The technology uses an AI algorithm to scan and analyze multiple images of an eye and then delivers a positive or negative test result. This is the first FDA approved solution that does not require a doctor to interpret test results, and more AI-based diagnostic solutions are expected to get the green light in the next several years.
Drug Development
It’s no secret that testing pharmaceuticals through clinical trials is an expensive and time-consuming process. The full development, testing, and approval process can literally take decades and cost billions. Though pharmaceutical players of all sizes are currently experimenting with AI applications in the drug discovery and development process, GSK is considered a leader in the space. GSK has fully embraced AI research and applications with their dedicated in-house team, ‘In silico Drug Discovery Unit’. The ultimate goal of the GSK project is to leverage artificial intelligence to shorten the drug research, testing, and launch window to under a year, a bold vision. Making the pharmaceutical process more efficient could drastically reduce the cost of medical treatments and the cost of health care in general.
Solving Doctor Shortages
China is facing one of the most alarming doctor shortagesin history, with only 1.5 doctors for every 1,000 residents (compared to 2.5 doctors per person in the United States). The need is dire, and the government is calling for action and loosening restrictions on the use of data and new technology. Currently, more than 100 companies are working to develop AI solutions to address urgent health care needs. A recent reportpredicted that China’s market for AI-powered health care services will reach almost $6B yuan ($930 Million) by 2022. Current projects include diagnostic tools to assist with CT scans, x-rays, ultrasound scans and prosthetic design and manufacturing.
Improving Telemedicine
Which would you prefer – an hour-long wait in a doctor’s office plus the time to actually see the doctor, or a quick 15-minute consultation and diagnosis via your smartphone? Though many assume telemedicine is a modern iteration of health care, this practice has actually been around since the 1950’s. Now, telemedicine is a common alternative to traditional doctor’s visits for simple diagnostics and treatment. A new app, 98point6, is taking this remote-experience to the next level with artificial intelligence. The technology interacts with subscribers to help better understand medical needs and then channels requests to the appropriate doctor for evaluation. The AI-bot essentially serves as a personalized triage service, saving manual time and labor.
The Bottom Line?
The adoption and utilization of artificial intelligence in the health care space will make health care more accessible, efficient, and affordable for everyone. by Meisha Bochicchio, Content Marketing Manager at PlanSource Originally posted on blog.ubabenefits.com
It’s not surprising that 2017 stands to be the year many will have an experience to share using a Telemedicine or a Virtual Doctor service. With current market trends, government regulations, and changing economic demands, it’s fast becoming a more popular alternative to traditional healthcare visits. And, as healthcare costs continue to rise and there are more strategic pricing options and digital models available to users, the appeal for consumers, self-funded employers, health systems and health plans to jump on board is significant.
Check out this short video and contact us to learn more!
