In the rapidly evolving home healthcare landscape, cost-effective, accessible technology has become essential for delivering high-quality patient care. Innovative solutions are needed to meet increasing demands without compromising care quality. Today, in our post-pandemic world, the integration of virtual doctor visits has revolutionized how medical care is provided and received–especially by home health and hospice patients (JIMR).
Currently, virtual visits are enhancing the clinician capacity of healthcare providers by as much as 250%, allowing nurses and clinicians to see more patients in less time. Fewer in-person consultations alleviate the burden on healthcare staff and significantly cut operational costs. Virtual visits also play a crucial role in reducing hospital readmissions by enabling timely and continuous monitoring of patients and preventing emergency health scares.
As a result, home healthcare is becoming a more accessible and sustainable option, paving the way for better patient outcomes and a more efficient healthcare system overall.
Understanding Virtual Visits in Home Health Care
Virtual visits let healthcare providers deliver medical advice or treatment to patients via video conferencing technology.
The adoption of video-visit technology has surged dramatically in recent years, propelled by advancements in digital communication and the necessity imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual visits allow patients to consult with their doctors from the comfort of their homes, providing several advantages, like saving travel time and costs for patients and their families and improving access to convenient healthcare.
According to a study by JMIR, “moving forward in the post Covid-19 era, virtual visits are expected to persist as a routine practice, but…[will] be most successful when tailored to the needs of patients, clinicians, and healthcare organizations”. For that reason, it’s critical to understand and consider patient perspectives, experiences, and diverse populations when creating care delivery models.
Virtual visits become even more powerful when integrated with remote patient monitoring (RPM). RPM uses digital devices to collect and regularly transmit patient data, such as vital signs, to care providers. This integration enables a more comprehensive and continuous care model, where physicians can closely monitor patients’ health metrics and respond quickly to any concerns, ensuring effective and timely medical interventions.
Increasing Care Capacity with Virtual Visits
Virtual visits significantly optimize clinician schedules, with one study recorded by the NLM citing that “virtual video visit cycle time was 56 minutes shorter than regular clinic visits”. Using virtual visit technology increases the care capacity for visit nurses to conduct multiple consultations without traveling between locations. Since travel time typically takes up a significant portion of nurses’ working hours, virtual visits expand their reach and impact.
With the ability to schedule and conduct video visits remotely, healthcare providers can also offer timely care to more patients, allowing more patients to receive medical attention without in-person visit delays. This streamlined approach maximizes staff productivity and enhances the overall efficiency of home healthcare services.
Virtual Vanguard: Elara Caring Case Study Highlight
Elara Caring, a leading provider of home health, hospice, behavioral health, and personal care services, has embarked on a transformative journey by implementing the CareXM Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring platform. At the heart of this initiative is ElaraConnect, a suite of internal programs designed to identify programs designed to identify patient needs and apply virtual oversight to keep them safely at home.
One of the unique aspects of ElaraConnect is the integration of in-person and virtual visits, providing patients with frequent, real-time opportunities for education, symptom management, and intervention. This hybrid approach acknowledges the importance of face-to-face interactions while harnessing the capabilities of virtual platforms for efficient, cost-effective and timely care delivery.
Through virtual visits, clinicians can engage with patients in the comfort of their homes, breaking down barriers that may hinder regular in-person interactions. This not only enhances patient convenience but also allows for continuous monitoring and assessment for a more comprehensive understanding of the patient’s health status. A hybrid approach to in-home care also allows Elara Caring to broaden access to services so the team can better serve patients living in rural or hard-to-access communities.
“Our clinicians have enjoyed the ease of use of the CareXM platform. We estimate our clinicians are able to monitor more than double that of our previous platform. We see and help more patients.”
–Ann Johnson, Director of Clinical Services, Telehealth.
Reducing Hospital Readmissions
Through virtual consultations, healthcare providers can identify and address potential health issues before they escalate into emergencies, resulting in costly hospital readmissions. For instance, a nurse might notice early signs of infection in a patient recovering from surgery during a virtual visit, allowing immediate treatment adjustments that prevent further complications.
Additionally, the integration of remote patient monitoring (RPM) provides continuous data on patients’ health metrics, such as heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, or blood glucose patterns. This continuous stream of patient information into RPM software systems alerts clinicians to changes in a patient’s condition that may not be noticed during visits. A virtual visit can quickly ensure the patient receives the correct care, significantly reducing the likelihood of hospital readmissions.
Cost-Effective Virtual Visits
Virtual visits are a cost-effective solution to costly readmissions by allowing:
- Direct Savings. Virtual visits help home health, hospice, physician groups, and healthcare systems save on substantial inpatient care costs by preventing readmissions with well-timed interventions. For example, conditions like heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often result in expensive hospital stays if not managed properly. Video consultations enable healthcare providers to monitor these conditions closely, address issues promptly, and put a stop to costly readmissions.
- Penalty Avoidance. Many insurers and government programs, such as Medicare, impose financial penalties on providers with high readmission rates. Using virtual visits to maintain better patient outcomes and lower readmission rates allows healthcare providers to avoid these penalties, leading to further cost savings.
Enhanced Patient Engagement
Enhanced patient engagement through virtual visits significantly contributes to improved health outcomes and reduced need for reactive care by:
- Convenience and Compliance. The convenience of virtual visits encourages higher patient compliance with follow-up appointments. This way, patients can consult their healthcare providers from the comfort of their homes without the hassle of travel, leading to consistent monitoring, adherence to treatment plans, and better health outcomes.
- Engaged Caregivers. Additionally, virtual visits facilitate the involvement of caregivers, who can easily join the consultations. This participation helps caregivers better understand the patient’s care plan and the necessary steps to support the patient effectively.
By fostering a collaborative environment where patients and caregivers are more engaged and informed, virtual visits promote proactive health management and reduce the likelihood of health complications.
Ready to Maximize Capacity and Minimize Readmissions?
CareXM is the kind of experienced clinical partner you can count on to deliver the proactive help you need to elevate your patient and caregiver experiences. Our mission is to help our partners effortlessly anticipate and respond to patient needs with triage technology backed by our on-demand triage team. Whether you need after-hours triage, our cost-saving hybrid triage solutions, or in-house triage call center infrastructure, we help you flex and extend your care so you reach patients in the moments they need help the most. CareXM will transform your patient approach to lower operating costs, from home health and hospice to health systems and more.