TeleHealth: The Secret to Efficiency

As tablet sizes get smaller and more affordable, hospitals may increasingly switch to telehealth applications, and there is good reason to do so. Since adopting Pioneer’s ACO program, Banner Health has seen a significant rise in care quality and a significant decrease in costs. The program can allow healthcare systems to more accurately and reliably share information system-wide, increasing quality of patient care and better utilizing physicians, nurse practitioners, etc.

The goals of the program were:

  • Improved clinical outcomes
  • Improved patient satisfaction
  • Reduction in costs for the patient population

Deborah Dahl, VP of patient care innovation at Banner Health, explains “We’ve been one of the top three performers for tele-ICU systems in the country for 10 out of the last 12 quarters. For ICU length of stay, that’s 20,000 fewer ICU days than were predicted, and for patients that come from the ICU into the med/surg environment, that’s more than 40,000 fewer med/surg days than were predicted, so on a very conservative model, that’s about $68 million cost that was avoided”. A research report published by BBC estimated the telemedicine industry will grow to $43.4B by 2019, growing at a 17.7% compound rate.

Has your healthcare system considered a telehealth program? For more on this particular story, click here.

Sources:

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/page-3/TEC-309510/How-Telehealth-Pays-Off-for-Providers-Patients

http://www.healthcaredive.com/news/telehealth-market-poised-to-hit-434b-by-2019/321932/