A Virtual Care Blueprint: How Digital Health Technologies Can Improve Health Outcomes, Patient Experience, and Cost Effectiveness

Description

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted healthcare systems around the globe to quickly explore and subsequently adopt digital health technologies and virtual care models that had been slowly growing in mainstream acceptance throughout the decade prior. In particular, telemedicine use skyrocketed as healthcare organizations and governments needed to provide access to infection risk-free health services. Telemedicine has been around in its current form for nearly two decades but grew significantly in utilization after the rapid acceleration of internet and smartphone adoption in the 2010s, and again in 2020 due to Covid-19. Beyond traditional audio-visual telemedicine modalities, newer, more advanced models of tech-enabled clinical services have begun to gain popularity. Fueled by ubiquitous modern telecommunication technologies (e.g., the Smartphone), a growing dissatisfaction with healthcare services among patients, and increasing chronic disease epidemics in developed countries, models like remote patient monitoring (RPM) and other hybrid virtual care models have entered the clinical toolbox. RPM-based care models can fill the gaps of transactional telemedicine in order to deliver longitudinal care appropriate for patients with chronic conditions. Despite the apparent recent acceleration of interest in and adoption of RPM-based virtual care models, substantial research exists on RPM covering patient reported outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and economic factors. In A Virtual Care Blueprint: How Digital Health Technologies Can Improve Health Outcomes, Patient Experience, and Cost-Effectiveness, Robert L. Longyear III explores the science, frontline clinical perspectives, and potential impact of RPM-based virtual care programs. Seeking to provide evidence-based information on RPM and virtual care in a market flooded with marketing materials, Longyear provides healthcare leaders, clinicians, and policymakers a clear outline of these increasingly important care models for a modern healthcare delivery system. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Author Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Digital Health—A New Industry A Definitional Issue Improving the Patient Experience: A Universal Experience Digital Experiences and Consumer Desires Chapter 3 The Smartphone and the Internet Internet and Smartphones: A Global Perspective The Internet: The US Perspective Rural Areas Older Adults The Smartphone Smartphones and the Internet: Population Segments A Note About Equity and Disparities Chapter 4 Refocusing Our Collective Efforts : Addressing Health Risk Factors Chronic Illness Epidemiology Addressing Factors That Lead to Chronic Disease A NOD to Public Health and Social Investment at All Levels Chapter 5 Bridging and Adjusting the Setting of Care The Face-to-Face + Virtual Model Post-Acute Outpatient Chronic Care: Driving Connected Care Models Brick-and-Mortar Barriers Chapter 6 Telemedicine: The Genesis of Virtual Care Scope of Care Telemedicine Payment Policy Chapter 7 Telemedicine: The Evidence Telemedicine: The Evidence Cost Considerations Patient Satisfaction Chapter 8 The Patient Relationship: The Softer Side of Virtual Care Virtual Care: The Doctor–Patient Relationship Telemental Health Services: An Example of Virtual Therapeutic Relationships The Three Elements of Patient Engagement Chapter 9 Data Collection in Healthcare: An Overview The EHR The EHR and Virtual Care Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD) and Wearables Chapter 10 Wearables and Predictive Analytics Chapter 11 Remote-Patient Monitoring RPM: The Technical Definition Chapter 12 RPM-Driven Virtual Care: Frontline Perspectives Engaging Older Adults RPM: Beyond Physiological Data Transmission Chapter 13 Remote-Patient Monitoring Outcomes An Evidence Overview Do RPM-Based Virtual Care Programs Work? Economic Outcomes Patient Experience Outcomes The AHRQ Systematic Review Chapter 14 Digging Deeper: RPM Outcomes by Condition Improving Physical Activity and Diet Heart Disease and Diabetes: The Pioneer Conditions A Diabetes Case Study Heart Failure Neurological Disorders COPD Asthma Oncology Pediatrics Mental Health Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Emerging Areas of Study Chapter 15 Payment and Policy FFS Payment Models in Virtual Care Value-Based Payment in Virtual Care Case Study: ChenMed and Virtual Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic Chapter 16 Digital Therapeutics RPM versus Digital Therapeutics Chapter 17 Furthering the Field and Adoption Research Investments Encouraging Experimentation Culture Program and Terminology Definitions Patient-Centeredness and Clinician Training FWA Entry to Curriculum Drastic Change Claims Chapter 18 Our Moral Responsibility and a Compass A Compass Chapter 19 Conclusion Index