Provider organizations are hungry for more hybrid care, but new research in NEJM Catalyst highlights a notable gap between their interest and infrastructure.
A survey of the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council – made up of clinical leaders and executives from care delivery orgs across the globe – showed that a majority of the 730 respondents believe hybrid care improves overall quality (74%).
- 55% of respondents’ organizations already offer hybrid care (68% for U.S. orgs)
- 42% offer primarily in-person care
- Only 3% offer primarily virtual care
Hybrid was ranked as the preferred mode of care delivery for the usual areas like primary care and chronic condition management, largely because of the convenience it offers patients, but several barriers still stand in the way of supplementing in-person care with virtual services.
Provider organizations are also facing their own set of challenges.
- Only 58% report adequate technological infrastructure to enable hybrid care.
- Even fewer report sufficient tech support for troubleshooting during virtual visits (27%).
- Just 38% agree they give providers sufficient training to deliver hybrid care effectively.
Although technology barriers are a common scapegoat for limiting access to hybrid/virtual care, the authors point out that digital literacy and clinician support are the bigger culprits. They also suggest a practical solution: dedicated digital navigators.
- Dr. John Torous, Digital Psychiatry Director at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, believes embedding trained digital health navigators within health systems is “the missing link” to bridge the gap between clinical care and digital tools.
- BIDMC has reportedly seen significant benefits from using digital navigators to help facilitate both patient engagement and clinical utilization, yet only 21% of organizations currently employ such specialists.
The Takeaway
Technology access is a constant barrier for hybrid care delivery, but this survey shows that digital literacy for patients and support for clinicians could be the actual limiting factors. Luckily, as the authors put it, digital navigators and training programs are also “low-hanging fruit.”
