Unraveling The Everyday Telehealth Challenges Should Start With Work Flow Simulation And Transparency
Healthcare Is Moving Towards Digitalization, But We Can Still Sustain Human Touch Over The CyberSpace
Illumination publication initially publicized this article on Medium!
The utility of digital technology in healthcare is rising, the telehealth system being one prominent disruptor in the industry. One can credit such a rapid climb in telehealth utility to the COVID-19 pandemic in response to maintaining medical clinics' business afloat by independent physicians.
Despite witnessing optimism about telehealth productivity, the medical community struggles to incorporate telehealth and digital technology in their daily workflow efficiently.
According to a recent poll conducted by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) , most medical practices face significant operational workflow challenges using telehealth services. Although 39% indicated the difficulty and inconsistency in reimbursement as the primary challenge, a large portion of the medical practice leaders cited technical issues for the remainder of those obstacles.
According to the MGMA report, 23% stated patients had limited technical knowledge or even access to the telehealth system; 15% pointed to technological connectivity and support issues; 11% indicated patients, staff, or providers' buy-in resistance. Furthermore, 10% stated that lack of workflow and scheduling was their greatest challenge.
As the MGMA report indicates, the payer rule inconsistency is a major factor undermining the utility of the telehealth system in medical practices. However, it would not be a surprise if some payers intentionally revisit their policies regarding how and what to reimburse. It would also not come as a surprise if they avoid paying for remote visits otherwise deemed unnecessary by the payer.
Current solutions have limited utility regarding what was performed and whether the visit was productive. Even then, the reimbursement issue's problem may be technical: a lack of workflow traceability and transparency.
After all, if the majority of physicians, as indicated in the MGMA report, have low comfort levels using telehealth, as some medical follow-ups and encounters may have low yield when it comes to patient evaluation, that is a shared challenge both for payers and physicians.
Not all patients are tech-savvy, but most can adopt a technology user experience that fits the layperson's mindset and attitude. That attitude reflects how they orient themselves within a given physical (3D) environment. For instance, unless disoriented, a layperson can easily navigate a medical clinic facility and follow instructions as directed. However, not all laypeople can realize their position on a two-dimensional computer screen where sometimes they must navigate through multiple pages to follow a task.
Suppose a system can simulate by translating the facility workflow onto the computer screen. In that case, one should be able to alleviate some of the challenges associated with remote clinic operations and physician resistance to taking up telehealth.
Medical practices are already under significant strain given the increasing administrative workload, value-based reimbursement schemes, and suboptimal user experience associated with current electronic health record systems.
The last thing physicians have in mind is adding another dimension to their existing challenges.
Medicolegal and ethical issues around the utility of telehealth systems further complicate physicians' challenges, like streamlining pre-visit workflows such as patient consent and registration.
领英推荐
Remote Patient Visit Doesn't Come With Human Touch But Can Come with Equal Perception.
In 2018 I published a short piece titled "The Top Reasons behind the Low Adoption of Telehealth Services. " That was before the COVID-19 pandemic and the telehealth challenges we see today. Within the article, I touched on a fundamental issue: the gap between healthcare professionals and the manufacturer of the technology, the unfriendliness of the telehealth systems, and the lack of a proper reimbursement model. The writing also touched on the telehealth service as a business tool rather than a medical care logistics.
In 2021 I published another commentary called "The Surge of Telehealth Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic ," which reflected on how governments are doubling down on promoting telehealth amid the Corona pandemic.
My most recent piece in 2021 on telehealth touched on post-pandemic challenges associated with the topic.
As much as one would think, many have changed around utility and attitudes around telehealth in the last five years; however, that seems like an illusion. Indeed, the utility has increased, but challenges have not only failed to resolve but have even grown. One can only relate that standstill to one thing and one thing only; "perplexity around the remote encounter."
The shortage of the hybrid workflow model has augmented the sense of detachment from the human touch and interaction.
Feeling in touch with reality is a monumental driver of human compliance, collaboration, and trust.
One may not precisely be able to reach out to others in physical cyberspace, but without a doubt can simulate that by developing a digital system of logistics that impersonates physical experience in real-time. Such a space is invariably transparent and workflow traceable, factors fundamental to molding user orientation in the time, person, groups, and place, what to expect, and how and where to navigate to complete a task.
The real-time, interactive experience in cyberspace may not be as vital for other industries like engineering and technology; however, it is critical in medical practice. And since most of the current medical practice solutions validation is not the upshot of physician and patient involvement, one can retort to what I predicted in 2018. Physicians and patients will adopt the current telehealth system if we solve the usability issues around those systems.
Related Articles:
The “Devil’s Advocacy” of Yesterday, Government Solution of today- but one more volatility for Medical Practice of tomorrow