At the Becker's ASC 21st Annual Meeting on Oct. 23 in Chicago, guest speaker Bryan Sullivan, vice president of EMR and clinical integration at Anesthesia Business Consultants, discussed the untapped potential of telemedicine in ASCs.
Although telemedicine has been around for a long time — it was first implemented by NASA to monitor the physiological data of astronauts in the late 1960s — many ASCs do not fully utilize the technology, according to Mr. Sullivan. While the U.S. telehealth market brought in $240 million in revenue last year, it is expected to be a booming $1.9 billion industry by 2018, said Mr. Sullivan, citing Forbes. Broadened regulations, the physician shortage and the transition to value-based healthcare are all influencing the increase in telemedicine implementation.
Here are the top five ways telemedicine can benefit ASCs:
- Patient demand. This is one of the most important drivers of telemedicine, according to Mr. Sullivan. The self-service functions of telemedicine can support the growth in surgical volume for ASCs. It proves especially useful for pre-operative screenings, according to Mr. Sullivan.
- Improved access for patients. Telemedicine allows improved patient access to health resources. In addition to providing virtual access to personal health records through patient portals, ASCs can use telehealth tools to efficiently reach patients located outside of metropolitan statistical areas.
- Cost efficiency. Telehealth services cost less than traditional staffing, according to Mr. Sullivan. Virtual patient-physician communications result in shared savings with patients, particularly while monitoring long-term conditions.
- Quality improvement. Patient satisfaction can increase with the use of telemedicine. The technology provides physicians with the ability to perform additional follow up, diagnose patients more quickly and keep patients out of the hospital when possible.
- Support shortages in providers. Telemedicine can also be used to fill gaps in nursing and administration. Virtual tools help reduce administrative work for physicians, which can lead to easier recruitment and higher physician retention, according to Mr. Sullivan.
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