Page 15 - South Florida Hospital News July 2021

Telehealth’s Moment

The pandemic shone a bility was unavailable, and
bright light on some of the that the provider could
best our country’s health appropriately identify the
care system has to offer – patient’s identity.
caring, committed health Our challenge today is
care workers, scientific to identify opportunities Specializing in Medically
innovators, collaborations to sustain this increase in
and a sense of community telehealth availability and Complex Patients
responsibility, and technolo- use. We know what a dif-
gy. ference convenient, safe, Kindred Hospitals are owned by Kindred
In the technology category and reliable access can Healthcare, Inc., a national network of Long Term
is telehealth – the ability for make for a teenager in Acute Care Hospitals (LTACH's).

patients to “see” a health BY MARY MAYHEW need of mental health Kindred Hospitals provide specialized, high quality
care provider from the com- counseling or for a 68- care for acutely ill patients. For more than a decade,
fort of their own homes and year-old with diabetes. we have fine-tuned the art of medically complex care.
for hospitals and clinics to bring a physi- For too many people, lack of transporta-
cian to a patient even if they are in phys- tion is a barrier to accessing timely, Our services range from complex catastrophic
ically different locations. appropriate health care. Telehealth elim- illnesses that require intensive care, post-surgical medical
Telehealth, of course, was used prior to inates that barrier. rehabilitation to patients suffering from chronic diseases requiring respiratory and
the pandemic. But, the pandemic served In addition, the urgency to make sure rehabilitative therapies. Kindred Hospitals provide outcome-oriented
as a catalyst for change in driving a dra- telehealth remains a permanent, accessi- cost effective care for patients with a wide spectrum of
matic increase in the availability and use ble fixture of our health care system is medical conditions.
of telehealth. Before COVID-19, there made clear in the recent trends showing
was a lingering sense that patients the significant increase in patients seek- Admissions to Kindred Hospitals may be
opposed the idea of health care through ing mental health care in hospital emer- recommended by physicians, acute-care hospitals,
a screen. Physicians and nurses gency departments for psychiatric con- rehabilitation hospitals, managed care providers, case
expressed concern that a remote care cerns and overdoses. In research pub- management companies or by the patient’s family.
experience would be “less than.” lished in the February 2001 JAMA In all cases family tours are encouraged.
Almost overnight, that changed. Psychiatry, researchers with the Centers
Safety, quality, accessibility, and patient for Disease Control and Prevention
experience revealed themselves as tele- specifically highlight strategies to sup- Kindred Hospital Kindred Hospital Kindred Hospital Kindred Hospital
health’s opportunity. port telehealth and addiction treatment Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Coral Gables The Palm Beaches
COVID-19 pushed telehealth from a services as critical for addressing people’s
1516 East Las Olas Blvd. 1859 Van Buren St. 5190 Southwest Eighth St. 5555 West Blue Heron Blvd
niche service to something widespread behavioral health needs in a more timely Ft. Lauderdale FL 33301 Hollywood, FL 33020 Coral Gables, FL 33134 Riviera Beach, FL 33418
and commonplace. The number of indi- manner and reducing the number of cri- 954-764-8900, ext. 5136 954-920-9000 305-448-1585 561-904-8451
viduals able to access critical health care sis-related ED visits. www.khfortlauderdale.com www.khsfhollywood.com www.khcoralgables.com www.khthepalmbeaches.com
services – that they likely would have As COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations,
gone without but for telehealth – sky- and deaths continue decreasing, the
rocketed over the course of the pandem- health care system has an opportunity to
ic. One study from Definitive Healthcare reflect on those aspects of the system
put the increase in telehealth visits at that worked well and to identify ways to
more than 6,000 percent. According to augment and amplify their role. With
that data, internal medicine and psychia- respect to telehealth, that work will be to
try were the specialties with the highest figure out how to maintain it as a pur-
volume of telemedicine claims in 2020 - poseful part of the operational design of
- 157,852 and 147,181, respectively. care delivery to ensure that:
Another study of data from the telehealth • Telehealth solutions are introduced
provider Doctor On Demand by Harvard thoughtfully with the explicit goal to
Medical School and the RAND improve access to care.
Corporation, reported increases of 109 • Patient and health care provider sat-
percent for unscheduled behavioral isfaction and experience are prioritized.
health visits and 130 percent for chronic • Outcomes are as good as or better
illness visits via telehealth from February than traditional models of care delivery.
through April 2020 over the year before. • Payment supports its deployment.
Almost immediately at the beginning During the pandemic, telehealth deliv-
of the pandemic, Florida’s Governor and ered essential health care to people when
Surgeon General issued emergency other routes were not possible. After the
orders to swiftly remove regulatory barri- pandemic, we need to support and sus-
ers to widespread telehealth use. A tain telehealth’s ability to continue to
March 31, 2020 order from the Surgeon deliver that essential health care.
General allowed health care providers to Patients’ good health depends on it.
conduct health visits via telephone only,
without videoconferencing, so long as Mary Mayhew is President and CEO of
they specifically noted that video capa- the Florida Hospital Association. Isn’t it time for an independent expert opinion
on your malpractice insurance coverage?

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