Dr. Sean Kelly, Chief Medical Officer at Imprivata

Telehealth

Telehealth’s Payoff

A new study from MITRE Corporation and Mayo Clinic of over 2 billion claims (plus thousands of patient and provider surveys) found that telehealth was effective at delivering care across a wide variety of specialties, but providers are still worried about its limitations in the post-COVID era.

Claims Results

• Telehealth claims represented less than 2% of total claims before the pandemic, peaking at 49% in April 2020
• Every clinical discipline saw usage rise, with the largest spike seen in behavioral health
• Out of state providers were responsible for 6.5% of telehealth visit claims

Provider Survey

• 79% of providers offered telehealth following the pandemic (16% prior)
• Highest quality of care ratings were for chronic disease mgmt (89%) and mental health (83%)
• Lowest quality of care ratings were for acute care (62%) and perioperative care (59%)
• Biggest telehealth barriers were low reimbursement (~80%) and patient tech challenges (~70%)
• Zoom (34%), audio-only (29%), and Doxy.me (28%) were the most cited technologies

Patient Survey

• An impressive 74% of patients plan to use telehealth services in the future
• 55% of patients reported that they would have delayed care without telehealth
• Telehealth drove patient satisfaction by removing transportation barriers (76%), removing need to take time off work (65%), and reducing costs (67%)

The Takeaway

Telehealth studies aren’t exactly hard to come by, but this one is unique given its size and intent. Mayo Clinic’s goal behind the study was to encourage more telehealth research with the hope of influencing permanent regulatory change and reimbursement approaches. The study does a great job of showcasing telehealth’s positive impact on patients and providers, highlighting the need to better understand how the technology can be improved moving forward.

Population Health

WellSky Invests in Community Care

Sometimes having a great community impact is as simple as a corporate mega-buyout. Health-tech company WellSky is acquiring Healthify for an undisclosed amount to expand access to its healthcare networks while addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH).

• What’s SDOH? All of the socio-economic conditions that affect health outcomes or quality-of-life, including: access to healthcare, education, economic stability, and community.
• What’s Healthify? Healthify connects healthcare providers with community-based organizations, then allows them to track the success of interventions with an interoperable technology platform. 
• Why does WellSky want it? Instead of building its SDOH offerings from the ground up, WellSky can leverage Healthify’s network of community organizations (and its closed-loop referral platform) to help payers and providers effectively coordinate care.

The Takeaway

Adding Healthify’s community-based SDOH referral platform to WellSky’s existing technology suite creates one of the largest social services networks in the US. The scale of the combined solution should allow for better ROI analysis and clinical data, which might mean improved patient outcomes and health equity over the long run.

Nuance’s Patient Engagement Must-Haves

Consumer demands are shifting, and they’re looking to get more out of their digital health technology. Nuance outlines the 5 must-haves for your patient engagement strategy here.

The Wire

• Vaccine Nudges: A recent UCLA study analyzed the language choices in text-based COVID-19 vaccination appointment reminders, finding that the most effective text language made patients “feel the vaccine was already theirs.” The study found no evidence that adding a second text nudge with information addressing vaccine hesitancy had any effect.

• Postpartum Telehealth: A new study review in JMIR mHealth and uHealth found that telehealth interventions effectively reduce depression and anxiety among women with postpartum depression. Analysis of nine randomized controlled trials (n = 1,958 women) revealed that women with postpartum depression who received telehealth support had lower scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (mean = 2.99 lower) and anxiety scale (mean = 0.39 lower), even though those women had the same levels of social support and loneliness.

• Aquiline Acquires Avera: Aquiline Capital Partners is purchasing Avera eCare (the telemedicine branch of Avera Health) for an undisclosed sum, renaming the spinoff Avel eCare when the deal closes in Q4 2021. Aquiline intends to accelerate Avera eCare’s digital growth and geographic expansion, with all 230 employees and CEO Deanna Larson staying through the buyout.

• Fake News: The Federation of State Medical Boards recently issued a warning to physicians that spreading misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine would put them at risk of losing their medical license. The warning arrives shortly after the Biden administration addressed the rampant misinformation enabled by social media companies.

• mHealth Interventions: A recent study out of Linköping University in Sweden investigated the effectiveness of behavior change interventions delivered by mobile phones vs. humans. It found that while mHealth solutions often provide generic information that hinders the development of a relational bond, this same robotic detachment has helpful clinical qualities such as eliminating treatment stigma and reducing patient embarrassment compared to talking with a human.

• Digital Diagnostics: Warby Parker’s Virtual Vision Test app now requires only 10 feet of space and 10 minutes (it used to take twice as long and twice as much room), allowing users in 29 states to renew glasses prescriptions with just their smartphone. The company upgraded the app after finding itself restricting eye-exam traffic to maintain social distancing, saying that it wants to be at the forefront of digital diagnostics.

• Equal Access: New research in JAMA Network Open found that improved access to smartphone internet plans did little to eliminate the digital divide of patient portal adoption for the >20% of US adults without broadband access. While the 21st Century Cures Act improved mobile patient portal access, the researchers note that other strategies like technology training are still needed.

• AI Growth Forecast: Signify Research forecasts the global imaging AI market to reach $1.2b by 2025 (up from ~$375m in 2020), boosted by AI’s recent regulatory and reimbursement progress. However, the firm warned that AI needs to prove its clinical and economic benefits in order to reach its full potential, perhaps explaining why Signify has now reduced its AI growth forecast from last September ($1.5b by 2024).

• Opioid App: A new study found that the opioid use disorder prescription app reSET-O helped lower patient healthcare costs by $2,385/person in the six months following the start of the treatment. reSET-O uses audio-visual therapy lessons designed to keep patients engaged in treatment and highlights the benefits of 24/7 patient access to behavioral treatments.

• Private Practice Confidence: A new Kareo survey of 1,300 private medical practices found that physician sentiment is largely positive regarding the future of their business, with 75% expecting growth in 2021. Telehealth adoption was a leading reason for the positivity. 80% of practices are now offering ongoing telehealth treatment and 36% of practices reported at least half of their patient visits are now virtual.

• Ultrasound Patch Advancement: UCSD researchers unveiled a wearable ultrasonic phased array patch that can monitor haemodynamic signals 14 cm beneath the skin and could eventually catch heart attacks or strokes before they happen. Although the patch currently needs to be tethered to a power source and computer to operate, a future wireless patch that continuously monitors cardiovascular conditions (at the point of care, or at home) could have a solid healthcare role.