Resources Mentioned in Today's Episode

Kaiser Family Foundation Article: Opportunities and Barriers for Telemedicine in the U.S. During the COVID-19 Emergency and Beyond

Brookings Article: Removing Regulatory Barriers to Telehealth Before and After COVID-19

U.S. News Article: The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Transformation of Telehealth

Credit Suisse Study: Telehealth Industry: Beyond the Pandemic

Key Takeaways

Telehealth - what should we call it?

• We see telehealth, telemedicine, and virtual medicine used in the majority of industry dialogue right now.
• It can be confusing when organizations define it in different ways.
  • The World Health Organization
    • Telemedicine services are administered by physicians only.
    • Telehealth is a little broader, so its services are administered by a variety of different care providers.
  • The U.S. federal government
    • Telehealth is a broad swath of remote healthcare services, not even entirely clinical.
    • Telemedicine is specific to the remote delivery of clinical care.

The utilization of telehealth.

• Several barriers have prevented the adoption of telemedicine.
  • While many employers report offering telehealth to employees, a large number of consumers are unaware that they have access to it.
  • How many providers can be compensated for telehealth versus in-person visits?
• There have been several restrictions temporarily lifted during COVID-19.
  • Federal
    • Waived HIPAA requirements.
    • Waived out-of-state licensing.
  • State by state
    • Loosened privacy laws.
    • Waived out-of-state licensing requirements.
    • Expanded Medicare programs.

The implications for health systems and hospitals.

• I would expect that states will more permanently wave a lot of in-state licensure requirements.
• What will not continue after COVID-19 is the use of non-HIPAA compliant technologies.
• The service and payment area are still undetermined about what will stay and what will cease after the temporary lifts have concluded.
• A patient is going to be looking at multiple options for how they want to receive care virtually.
  • As health system marketers look to prioritize their own telehealth services, they must approach communication with even more rigor, targeting tactics, and educational messaging than their health plan counterparts.

The impact of consumer perception on telemedicine adoption.

• Consumers are still afraid to go back into hospital settings.
  • They've become comfortable with telehealth, so demand is likely going to continue.