A study focused on the use and perceptions of telehealth in rural areas with a focus on Michigan counties, found three major challenges to expanding telehealth options in rural communities including: 1) A lack of funding for program expansion; 2) The need for improved broadband access; and 3) Disparate reimbursement rates for telehealth services from insurance and [...]
In a 2018 proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimated that telemedicine is saving Medicare patients $60 million in travel time, with a projected estimate of $100 million by 2024, and $170 million by 2029.
A group of physicians and researchers from Kaiser Permanente studied “a novel model of integrating telemedicine seamlessly with patients’ ongoing clinicians, EHRs, and delivery systems.” Their findings showed the feasibility and growing adoption of video visits integrated with ongoing clinical care.
Older adults with complex care needs want to live as independently as they can for as long as they can, and limit stress on family caregivers. Telehealth strategies offer the potential to improve access to care and the quality of care, while reducing strain on family caregivers. For health care systems, home telehealth may help [...]
A trends report analyzing place of service found that telehealth service use increased substantially from 2011 to 2016. For example, telehealth use increased 960% in rural areas, 629% in urban areas and 643% nationally. The results also showed that mental health was the number one telehealth-related diagnostic category and accounted for 31% of telehealth claim line distribution [...]
The most consistent benefit has been reported when telehealth is used for communication and counseling or remote monitoring in chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory disease, with improvements in outcomes such as mortality, quality of life, and reductions in hospital admissions.
A study demonstrating the feasibility of and cost of replacing in-person case with acute care telehealth services found that the average estimated cost of a telehealth visit is $40 to $50 per visit compared to the average estimated cost of $136 to $176 for in-person acute care. The study estimated savings per commercial telehealth visit of $126. [...]
The September 2014 issue of Telemedicine and E-Health featured a systemic review by Dr. Rashid Bashshur and Dr. Gary Shannon from the University of Michigan and the University of Kentucky, respectively, of evidence from studies on the effects of telemedicine in the management of chronic diseases, specifically, congestive heart failure (CHF), stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [...]
Data shows telemental health is as effective, if not more effective at treating depression than traditional face-to-face mental health care. A study of close to 100,000 veterans found that the number of days patients were hospitalized decreased by 25% when using telehealth for counseling services.
A hybrid model implementing both store-and-forward and real-time video telehealth technologies in emergency rooms, prisons, nursing home facilities and physician offices across the United States predicted savings of roughly $4.3 billion in health care spending per year. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18578679/